What not to recycle

Whilst recycling is a great way for you to help our planet, it is important not to put the wrong materials in your orange bag or mixed recycling bank. Putting the wrong materials into your orange bag or mixed recycling bank can contaminate the whole lot and mean it will be sent to landfill instead of recycled.

Certain materials are not collected for recycling because the sorting plant used by the Council is not set up to deal with these materials and/or the reprocessing facilities (to physically turn the old materials into new ones) do not exist locally.

The Council’s orange bag and mixed bank recycling service currently cannot collect the following items:

  • food waste
  • garden waste
  • clothes and textiles
  • wood
  • building / DIY materials
  • polystyrene
  • shredded paper

Additional items not accepted in the orange bag or mixed bank recycling service are:

  •  tin foil
  •  soiled nappies
  •  plastic food wrapping (cling-film)  
  •  broken glass, including pyrex glass
  •  lightbulbs
  •  batteries

Important: Please do not place any of these items into your orange bag or mixed recycling bank.

However, alternatives for some of these items are available. Please see the following:

  • garden waste can be collected free of charge all year round. This is called the Garden Waste service. Please call Streetline on 0207 361 3001 for more information.
  • clothes in good condition will be received at any charity shop where they will sell them on. Alternatively, please look out for clothes and textile recycling banks around the borough. See Mini Recycling Centres.
  • wood / building materials - you could dispose of old wood or building materials by giving it away, for free, via the Freecycle network, or sell it to friends. You could also use the Council’s ‘Too Big For The Bin’ service whereby it will be taken away for a fee. Please call Streetline on 0207 361 3001 for more information. See Freecycle network.
  • polystyrene - if you know of a local artist, or community group who requires polystyrene for artistic purposes, then please donate what you have to them. Otherwise, don’t include polystyrene for recycling in your orange bag or mixed recycling bank.
  • lightbulbs and batteries - these can be recycled in special containers throughout the borough.  Please see lightbulb recycling and battery recycling for more information.