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City Of York Council

Recycling and reuse A to Z

This is an A to Z of where you can take your household waste items for reuse or recycling. If you are donating something for reuse, for example to a charity shop, please make sure it is in good condition, clean and no parts are missing.

Aerosols

  • All empty aerosols can be recycled in the kerbside recycling collections and can recycling banks.  they need to be completely empty before recycled.  DO NOT puncture or crush them

Aluminium foil

  • See foil

Batteries (household and car)

  • These can be take to the Household Waste Recycling Centres for recycling in special recycling container
  • Most retailers who sell batteries now have in-store battery recycling containers
  • Please contact us for details about how schools can recycle batteries

Bicycles

  • Bike rescue www.yorkrecycling.net. Bike Rescue is a not-for-profit community interest company, which specialises in recycling bikes. The project is open to the public at the following times:

    Monday - Friday 7.30am - 6.30pm & Saturday 9am-6pm

    Telephone: 01904 733789 Address:The Hub station, Wellington Row, York, Y01 6HY Email:bikerescue@yahoo.co.uk

  • Bike Rescue also have a trailer at Hazel Court Household Waste Recycling centre.

Books

  • Can be donated to charities for reuse.  See Recycling Banks for locations of book recycling banks.
  • See Charity Shops for locations of shops where you can take donations or buy second hand books

Bric-a-brac

  • See charity shops for places where you can donate or buy second hand items
  • St. Sampson's Centre, St. Sampson's Church, Church Street, York, tel: (01904) 652247. They accept bric-a-brac, books, coins, jewellery, jig-saws, toys and wool for re-sale to raise funds. Spectacles and greeting cards (not Christmas cards). Deliver to Centre - open 10.00am - 4.00pm, Tuesday to Saturday. For enquiries contact Tony Simons (warden).

Cans (metal drinks cans and food tins)

  • See recycling banks for locations of can recycling banks
  • See kerbside recycling scheme for full details of what items you can recycle
  • North Yorkshire Moors Historical Railway Trust. Collects newspapers, magazines, cardboard, aluminium cans, pots and pans and foil. Contact Mr Hasler for further details. tel: (01904) 416415.
  • Think cans www.thinkcans.com to find out how you can get cash for aluminium cans.

Card & Cardboard

  • North Yorkshire Moors Historical Railway Trust. Collects newspapers, magazines, cardboard, aluminium cans, pots and pans and foil. Contact Mr Hasler for further details. tel: (01904) 416415.
  • Can be taken to Household Waste Recycling Centres
  • See Recycling banks for locations of cardboard recycling banks

Car Oil

Carrier Bag Recycling

You can take any plastic bags to these sites for recycling.  This is organised by the supermarkets themselves and the plastic is recycled by them. These banks now also accept plastic film for recycling.  See section on plastic film for full details of what you can recycle.

  • Tesco, Clifton Moor (in store bank)
  • Tesco, Tadcaster Rd (in store bank)
  • Sainsbury's Supermarket, Monks Cross (in store bank)
  • Sainsbury's Supermarket, Foss bank (in store bank)
  • Morrisons, Front Street, Acomb (in store bank)
  • ASDA, Monks Cross (in store bank)

Cars

Giveacar.co.uk is a social enterprise that raises money for charities by accepting donations of unwanted cars, and recycling those that are ready for scrap. Giveacar picks up any vehicle, anywhere in the UK for free. A donation is generated from the sale at auction or from the scrap of your car and the proceeds are then directed to a registered charity of your choice.

The Giveacar scheme is environmentally friendly as cars that are not auctionable are de-polluted, recycled and disposed of in accordance with DVLA and the Environment agency guidelines.

Giveacar only uses authorised treatment facilities which have a minimum recycling target of 85% in terms of vehicle weight.

If you would like to know more about donating and recycling your car through Giveacar call 020 0011 1664 or go to giveacar.co.uk.

Cartridges (inkjet and toner)

  • Child Advocacy International www.caiuk.org
  • Farplace Animal Rescue
  • See charity shops for charities which accept cartridges for recycling
  • The Leprosy Mission, 48 Main Street, Bishopthorpe collect cartridges for recycling. Please leave in the wooden chest outside. The Leprosy mission pay for multi drug therapy in the 3rd world, which can, if caught in time, cure leprosy.

CDs

  • See charity shops for reuse opportunities
  • Why not make them into bird scarers for your vegetable patch or allotment?

Coat Hangers

  • Many charity shops can use coat hangers to display clothes, or pass onto family and friends.  Return yellow Johnsons Dry Cleaning hangers to their shops

Coins (foreign and old)

  • See charity shops for ones which will accept coins
  • St. Sampson's Centre, St. Sampson's Church, Church Street, York, tel: (01904) 652247. They accept bric-a-brac, books, coins, jewellery, jig-saws, toys and wool for re-sale to raise funds. Spectacles and greeting cards (not Christmas cards). Deliver to Centre - open 10.00am - 4.00pm, Tuesday to Saturday. For enquiries contact Tony Simons (warden).

Computers

  • See Household Waste Recycling Centres for electrical waste recycling options for computers
  • Airedale Computer Recycling (registered charity), tel: (01977) 736283.
  • Computer Aid (registered charity) Tel: 0208 3615540. The world's largest non-profit supplier of computers to developing countries
  • Computers for Africa accept donations of  unwanted PC's, laptops, notebooks, monitors, etc that are less than 5 years old and that are in working condition. All computers donated to us are securely data wiped before being shipped to Africa. See their website www.computers4africa.org.uk/  Once or twice a year they also arrange a one-off collection in York.

Don't dump that website

  • The majority of what is thrown away every day is probably reusable and only goes to landfill because most people don't know what else to do with it. Don't dump that is all about helping people preserve the environment by keeping perfectly useful but otherwise unwanted items out of landfill sites.
  • For more information or to join the network go to, www.dontdumpthat.com

Duvets

  • See pillows and duvets

DVDs

Electrical appliances

  • Can be take to the Household Waste Recycling Centres for recycling
  • Community Furniture Store The York Community Furniture Store, Unit 29 The Raylor Centre, James Street, York, tel: (01904) 426444. The Community Furniture Store supplies furniture and electrical goods to households in the York area offering discounts for people with proof of low income. Collection can be arranged. Not gas appliances . All soft furnishings must meet 1988 fire regulation and be in a reasonable condition. Alternatively deliveries can be made by prior arrangement directly to the store. Open 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday and 9.30am - 4.30pm Saturday.

Envelopes

  • Non window envelopes can now be recycled as part of your kerbside recycling collection (please remove any windows).
  • See Recycling banks for paper recycling banks where you can recycle envelopes

Fabric

  • Brunswick Organic Nursery, Appleton Road, Bishopthorpe, York, tel: (01904) 701869. They need carrier bags (for re-use in shop), dustbins (for making worm compost), timber (to make compost bins, raised beds, etc.), cotton or cotton mixed fabric for rag rugs. Brunswick Organic Nursery provides horticultural and craftwork opportunities for people with special needs.

Fluorescent tubes and energy saving light bulbs

Foil (aluminium foil, clean milk bottle tops, pie trays etc)

  • All can recycling banks now accept aluminium foil.  See recycling banks for locations of can recycling banks across the city.  Foil is not accepted on the kerbside recycling collections
  • See Recycling Banks for local charity foil recycling banks
  • North Yorkshire Moors Historical Railway Trust. Collects newspapers, magazines, cardboard, aluminium cans, pots and pans and foil. Contact Mr Hasler for further details. tel: (01904) 416415.
  • Guide dogs for the blind. Please wash, squash and leave in the 'blanket box' outside 33 Maple Avenue, Bishopthorpe.

Freecycle website

  • The York Freecycle group is open to all residents of York who want to "recycle" that special something rather than throw it away. Whether it's a chair, a fax machine, piano or an old door, feel free to advertise it. Or maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself. There's one main rule, though: everything given away must be free!
  • For more information or to join the network go to, www.freecycle.org or groups.yahoo.com/group/york_freecycle/

Furniture

  • See charity shops for those which accept furniture
  • The York Community Furniture Store, Unit 29 The Raylor Centre, James Street, York, tel: (01904) 426444. The Community Furniture Store supplies furniture and electrical goods to households in the York area offering discounts for people with proof of low income. Collection can be arranged. Not gas appliances. All soft furnishings must meet 1988 fire regulation and be in a reasonable condition. Alternatively deliveries can be made by prior arrangement directly to the store. Open 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday and 9.30am - 4.30pm Saturday.

Games

  • See charity shops for where to donate old board games, jigsaws, computer games etc

Garden waste

Greetings cards

  • All greetings cards can be recycled through the kerbside recycling collections
  • Why not cut them up to make gift tags?
  • St. Sampson's Centre, St. Sampson's Church, Church Street, York, tel: (01904) 652247. They accept bric-a-brac, books, coins, jewellery, jig-saws, toys and wool for re-sale to raise funds. Spectacles and greeting cards (not Christmas cards). Deliver to Centre - open 10.00am - 4.00pm, Tuesday to Saturday. For enquiries contact Tony Simons (warden).
  • Recycling banks for Christmas cards are provided at various locations during the month of January in association with the Woodland Trust.  In 2010 they are working in partnership with TK Maxx, WHSmith and Marks and Spencer.  Morrison's stores have recycling banks in store for the Salvation Army.

Hand tools

  • BTCV York (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers), 7 Leake Street, Off Lawrence Street, York, YO10 8NP. Unwanted hand tools - gardening, forestry, carpentry, building etc, for use by volunteers on conservation and community green space projects in the York area. Deliver between 9.00am - 5.00pm on Monday or Friday. Large quantities can be collected. Tel: (01904) 644300.
  • Tools for Self Reliance c/o 21 Neville Street, YO31 SNP, York. Hand tools (except gardening tools) and hand sewing machines (singer with round bobbin only)  The tools are cleaned and refurbished by volunteers and then sent to partner organisations in Africa.  For more information about the tools wanted visit www.tfsr.org.  Collections can be arranged within York.  Contact Mary on tel:(01904) 655380 or Michael on tel:(01904) 633080

Hearing aids (working)

  • Help the Aged accept unwanted working hearing aids for reuse in India.  Send them to:  Hearing Aid Appeal, Help the Aged, FREEPOST LON13616, London, EC1B 1PS
  • NHS hearing aids remain the property of the NHS.  If you have an NHS hearing aid which is no longer needed please return it to the audiology department of your nearest NHS hospital

Household goods

  • See charity shops
  • The York Community Furniture Store, Unit 29 The Raylor Centre, James Street, York, tel: (01904) 426444. The Community Furniture Store supplies furniture and electrical goods to households in the York area offering discounts for people with proof of low income. Collection can be arranged. Not gas appliances. All soft furnishings must meet 1988 fire regulation and be in a reasonable condition. Alternatively deliveries can be made by prior arrangement directly to the store. Open 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday and 9.30am - 4.30pm Saturday.
  • North Yorkshire Moors Historical Railway Trust. Collects newspapers, magazines, cardboard, aluminium cans, pots and pans and foil. Contact Mr Hasler for further details. tel: (01904) 416415

Kitchen waste

Light bulbs

Energy efficient light bulbs are a type of fluorescent lamp and can be recycled at our household waste recycling centres.  Older style light bulbs aren't recyclable. These should be thrown away safely in your rubbish bin. 

Some shops which sell light bulbs also have recycling banks for them.  Look out instore for recycling bins.

Metal

  • see scrap metal

Mobile phones

The main channels for disposing of mobiles are the shops that sell them, but there are other organisations and charities that accept them for refurbishment and recycling.  Up to 80 per cent of a phone is recyclable, so don't send it to landfill or leave it in the drawer - recycle it!

There are lots of charities who collect unwanted mobile phones.  Here are just some of them:

  • Red Cross www.redcross.org.uk/standard.asp?id=98426
  • Oxfam shops accept donations of old mobile phones.  If you're donating fewer than 20 phones or 30 cartridges, simply send them in a jiffy bag, FREEPOST, to: 
      Oxfam Recycle Scheme
      Freepost LON16281
      London
      WC1N 3BR
      www.oxfam.org.uk
  • Child Advocacy International www.caiuk.org
  • British Heart Foundation - for every phone recycled, the BHF receives £3.00 which could help a Cardiac Nurse or Heart Information Officer deal with calls to the Heart HelpLine, providing vital information to people who are concerned about heart disease.bhf@greenersolutions.com
  • See charity shops for a full list of charity shops - most will accept old mobile phones for recycling
  • Yorkshire Air Ambulance Charity, Freepost, London, 16281, London, WC1N 3BR, or request a bag on line at www.cmrecycling.co.uk. Every working phone which is recycled is worth £6 towards the cost of this life saving service.

Music & musical instruments

Paint (for disposal)

Paper - including brochures, catalogues, shredded paper, office paper, junk mail, newspapers

  • See recycling banks (paper) for where to take your paper to be recycled
  • All types of paper can be recycled through the kerbside recycling scheme
  • Some Scout groups collect newspapers (and other paper) and this is sold to raise money for their group: Bishopthorpe Scout Group, 1st Clifton Sea Scouts, 1st Copmanthorpe Scout Group, Dringhouses Scout Group, Elvington Scout Group, 1st Poppleton Scout Group.
  • Scrunched up paper is great for home composting

Pillows and Duvets

  • Both cotton and feathers are natural materials which can be composted. If you compost at home, you can include these materials. Mix the feathers with an equal amount of green materials such as grass cuttings or fruit and vegetable peelings. The same applies to cotton towels but these would need to be cut-up into small pieces.

  • Alternative re-use options are remove the stuffing and use to make other pillows thicker, keep it in your pet's cage for comfort, cut it in half, sew along the open end and make into two smaller camping pillows, instead of throwing it out, re-stuff it.

  • RSPCA often accepts donations of old bedding for their animal centre at Landing Lane.  Contact the RSPCA shop on Gillygate 01904 653766.

Plastic bottles

  • See Recycling Banks for locations of plastic bottle recycling banks.  All types and colours of plastic bottle can be recycled with lids and labels left on.

Plastic film

You can now recycle thin plastic packaging at supermarkets where there is a carrier bag recycling bank. 

The products you can recycle are: plastic-wrapped bakery goods, breakfast cereal liners, packaging for household goods (toilet roll wrap, kitchen roll wrap) plastic-wrapped grocery produce (fresh and frozen), multipack shrink wrap such as that found around cans, bottles and tins.

There are carrier bag recycling banks at these sites:

  • Tesco, Clifton Moor
  • Tesco, Tadcaster Rd
  • Sainsbury's Supermarket, Foss bank
  • Sainsbury's Supermarket, Monks Cross
  • Morrison, Front Street, Acomb
  • ASDA, Monks Cross

Look out for the new on-pack recycling label, to help you identify which types of plastic film can be recycled. 

Postage stamps

  • RNIB accept donations of British and foreign stamps.  Please cut the stamp off the envelope leaving about 1cm of envelope bordering each stamp. Please separate the stamps into British and overseas.  The value of a stamp does not matter.Collected stamps should be sent to:RNIB Stamp Recycling,  PO Box 185, BENFLEET, SS7 9BH
  • PDSA - supporters are asked to donate all types of stamps; first class, second class, foreign and special collections for recycling. They should be sent to: PDSA Stamp Appeal, P.O. Box 9191, Wishaw, Lanarkshire, ML2 0YB. Once received, the stamps are sorted, weighed and then recycled, helping to raise much-needed funds for the charity to provide free veterinary treatment for the sick and injured pets of people in need.
  • The Leprosy Mission, 48 Main Street, Bishopthorpe. Please leave in the trunk outside the front door. The Leprosy mission pay for multi-drug therapy for sufferers of Leprosy in the third world. This procedure can, in some cases, cure leprosy.

Postcards

  • The Leprosy Mission accept postcards for recycling. Please leave in the trunk outside the front door of 48 Main Street, Bishopthorpe.

Scrap metal

Sewing machines

  • Tools for Self Reliance c/o 8 St Johns Crescent, York. Hand tools (except for gardening) and sewing machines, which are cleaned and refurbished by volunteers and then sent to village workshops in some of the world's poorest countries. Collections can be arranged, contact Mary Machen on tel:(01904) 655380 or Michael Potter on tel:(01904) 633080

Shoes

  • Old pairs of shoes can be donated to most charity shops or put into a shoe or textile recycling bank. See Recycling Banks for locations of shoe and textile recycling banks

Spectacles

  • See charity shops
  • St. Sampson's Centre, St. Sampson's Church, Church Street, York, tel: (01904) 652247. They accept bric-a-brac, books, coins, jewellery, jig-saws, toys and wool for re-sale to raise funds. Spectacles and greeting cards (not Christmas cards). Deliver to Centre - open 10.00am - 4.00pm, Tuesday to Saturday. For enquiries contact Tony Simons (warden).
  • Vision Aid Overseas accept spectacles for Reuse in the Third world. You are able to drop them off at; Ruth Perrott, Community Optometrist, 30 York Road, York, YO24 4LZ or leave in the wooden trunk outside 48 Main Street, Bishopthorpe.

Stamps

  • See postage stamps

Telephone directories

  • Can be recycled in any paper Recycling Banks or the kerbside recycling collections

Tetrapaks (cartons)

  • There are 5 sites in York where all types of food and drink cartons can be taken for recycling: Hazel Court and Towthorpe Household Waste Recycling Centres, Tesco Clifton Moor, Tesco Askham Bar and ASDA Monks Cross. 

Textiles

  • Clean clothing (adult and children's), bedding, textiles, quilts, curtains, blankets, bags, belts, hats, pairs of shoes etc can all be donated to a local charity shop or put into a charity textile recycling bank for reuse and recycling in aid of that particular charity
  • See Recycling Banks for locations of charity textile recycling banks
  • See charity shops for locations of York's charity shops to make a donation or buy goods

Tyres

  • We don't accept any old tyres for recycling but most car garages will

Toys

VSkips

  • Get rid of your unwanted items without adding to unnecessary landfill.
  • Rummage for other people's throwaways.
  • Upload requests for items you want. Everything offered is FREE for collection.
  • For more information or to join the network go to, www.vskips.org

Video tapes

  • Working VHS videos can be donated to charity shops for them to sell.  There are no local recycling services for video tapes.

Water Butts

  • The average person uses around 160 litres of water a day. To help save water and cut down your bill on your water meter you might consider using a water butt in your garden. To purchase a water butt to help save water you will need to contact Yorkshire Waster on 0844 4721889. They sometimes offer particular deals by area.

Wood

Yellow Pages

  • Yellow Pages directories can now be recycled through the kerbside recycling collections and in all paper recycling banks.
  • See Recycling Banks (paper) for locations of paper recycling banks
  • Why not scrunch up the pages and add to your home composting bin?

For everything else why not try Freecycle?  www.freecycle.org or groups.yahoo.com/group/york freecycle/

Contact

York Customer Centre
tel: (01904) 551551
8.30am to 7pm weekdays

Recycling team
Communities & Neighbourhoods, PO Box 643 York YO1 0EY
email: recycling.team
@york.gov.uk