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.

Sawdust produced from untreated timber can be re-used as animal bedding. Small quantities can also be added to your compost bin/heap. It can be recycled in your brown garden waste bin, or taken to your nearest recycling centre and put in the garden waste container. Sawdust produced from MDF, chipboard or other treated timber should be bagged up and put in your black rubbish bin. Sawdust containing animal waste should be put in your black rubbish bin.

You can donate a wide range of items such as cards, papers and textiles to centres for use in community craft activities and projects. Scrap Creative Reuse Ltd is a social enterprise group which collects unwanted objects, rejects and damaged stock from businesses to distribute to community groups and schools. You can contact them on 0113 244 1576 or visit their website on the link below. Replay are a project by Leeds Play Network involving the collection of unwanted materials from businesses for use in children's craft activities. You can contact them on 0113 201 6790 or visit the Leeds Play Network website.

Please see Hypodermic Needles

If your shoes are good enough for someone else to use, please donate them to your nearest charity shop. If your shoes are not re-useable, please tie pairs together and bag them up before taking them to your nearest bring site with a textile bank or recycling centre. They will be repaired for re-use in developing countries.

We do not collect shredded paper in the green recycling bins. This is because we are unable to process it due to the small fibers which can interfere with the machinery creating costly maintenance issues. If you shred documents to protect against identity theft you can minimise the amount of shredded paper that you produce by only shredding the parts of documents that contain your personal details e.g. name, address etc.  We recommend that you place shredded paper into your home composter as it rots down quickly to create good garden compost. You can also use it as pet bedding. If you aren’t able to compost or reuse it then please place it in your black rubbish bin. It can't go in the green recycling or brown garden waste bin.

If your sideboard is in good condition, you can donate it to a local reuse organisation. You can also take it to the Revive Leeds re-use shop at the Kirkstall or Seacroft recycling centre. If your sideboard is not good enough to re-use, please take it to your nearest recycling site. Wooden, MDF and chipboard furniture can be recycled in the timber skip. Other 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.

If your unwanted sofa is good enough to be used by others and has a fire label, donate it to a local re-use organisation. You can also take it to the Revive Leeds re-use shop at the Kirkstall or Seacroft recycling centre,. Alternatively, put your sofa in the reuse container at your nearest recycling centre. If your sofa 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.

Please see Glasses (Spectacles).

Many charities collect used postage stamps. Please keep a margin of paper around the stamps when you tear them off envelopes. Do a quick search on the internet to find a charity to support with your used postage stamps.