A to Z of reusing, recycling and waste disposal

You can take your fluorescent tubes to your nearest recycling centre. Please put them in the appropriate collection container. These will be recycled and the mercury that they contain will be recovered.

Please see Aluminium Foil

Try to reduce the amount of food waste that you produce by planning meals, making your portions smaller (if you tend to throw away a lot of cooked food) and freezing spare portions. You can compost your vegetable peelings and cooked food in your compost bin (but not meat and fish). Food waste can't be put in your brown bin as it may have been subject to pesticides which could contaminate the rest of the waste. For tips on how to reduce the amount of food waste you produce, recipe ideas, shopping lists and menus please see the Love Food Hate Waste website. Residents in the Rothwell area can put all their food waste in their food waste bin for weekly collection.

Most charity shops will accept them. Alternatively why not keep them to pass on to friends and relatives for their holidays.

If your fridge or freezer is in working order, please consider donating it to a local re-use organisation. If it does not work, please take it to your local recycling centre and leave it in the designated storage area. Ask the site staff if you don't know where this is. If you are unable to take your fridge or freezer to your local recycling centre, you can book a bulky waste collection online. Fridges and freezers will be sent to a recycling plant where harmful CFC gases will be removed for incineration. The plastics and metals will be recycled into new products.

If your unwanted furniture is good enough to be used by others, donate it to a local re-use organisation. Mattresses, armchairs and sofas should all have a fire label, and be free of stains. You can also take it to the Revive Leeds re-use shop at the Kirkstall or Seacroft recycling centre,. Alternatively, put your furniture in the reuse container at your nearest recycling centre. If your furniture is not good enough to re-use, please take it to your nearest recycling centre. Wooden, MDF and chipboard furniture can be recycled in the timber skip, and metal furniture in the scrap metal skip. Mattresses and other soft furniture should be put in the non-recyclable waste skip. If you are unable to take your furniture to your local recycling centre, you can book a bulky collection online.

You can refill and re-use inkjet cartridges by buying a refill kit or visiting your local cartridge retailer. There are many charities that want unwanted ink cartridges and provide Freepost envelopes so that you can send them your cartridges. These are often available in your local supermarket or other retailer or can be found by entering a search on the internet.

If your iron still works, please donate it to a charity shop or your local reuse organisation. You can recycle your iron by taking it to your nearest bring site that has a WEEE bank (see W for a list of WEEE banks) or to your nearest recycling centre, where you can put it in the small waste electrical container. The metal and plastic will be recycled into new products.