A to Z of reusing, recycling and waste disposal

Rinse and squash all cans (steel and aluminium) and recycle them through your green recycling bin. These items are used in metal smelters and made into new metal products.

You can take your diesel and petrol car batteries to your nearest recycling centre. Contact your car manufacturer or dealer for advice on recycling electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Cardboard sheets can be used in the garden as a mulch to suppress weeds or ripped up can be added to your compost heap. It can also be shredded and used for animal bedding. All cardboard such as brown card, cereal boxes, egg boxes and toilet roll tubes can be placed in your green recycling bin. Larger corrugated cardboard boxes should be flattened and deposited in the cardboard skips at your nearest recycling centre. This is recycled back into cardboard products such as packaging materials, cat litter and more.

Remove any glittery or metallic parts from cards and recycle the rest in your green bin. You could reuse glittery or metallic parts by making them into gift tags. These items are recycled back into cardboard products such as packaging materials and cat litter.

Why not hire an industrial steam cleaner or use a local carpet cleaning firm to clean and spruce up your carpet so you can continue to use it? If you have a homemade compost heap, pieces of carpet are ideal as an insulating material to place on the top of the heap to keep the heat in. Unwanted carpets and rugs can be sold or given to charity shops. As a last resort unwanted carpets should be taken to your nearest recycling centre and placed in the general waste skips. These will be sent to landfill for disposal.

Remember to take out a shopping bag or few carrier bags with you so that you don't need to accept anymore. Save money by using carrier bags as bin liners at home. Carrier bags, bread bags and stretchy fresh or frozen fruit and vegetable bags can be recycled in your green bin.

If your car is beyond repair, you should take it to a local scrap metal merchant for disposal. Please note that scrap has a value so shop around for the best offer.

Food and beverage cartons (Tetra Paks) are used to carry products such as milk, soft drinks and fruit juices and can be recycled in your green bin. The fibre from the cartons is recycled in to coreboard which is then converted into industrial tubes and cores. The plastic is recycled into new polymer products such as children’s play mats and the aluminium is used in products such as breeze blocks.

If your unwanted CDs are pre-recorded and still work, you can donate them to your local charity shop. There are also many online companies that offer a CD recycling service.

If your unwanted chair is good enough to be used by others, donate it to a local re-use organisation. Armchairs must have a fire label to be re-used. You can also take it to the Revive Leeds re-use shop at the Kirkstall or Seacroft recycling centres or to your nearest recycling centre where you can put it in the re-use container. If it is not good enough to re-use you can take it to your nearest recycling centre for disposal. Wooden furniture can be recycled in the timber container. If you are unable to do this, you can book a bulky item collection online

There are many chemicals used in the home that are hazardous substances, for example paint, white spirit, bleach, antifreeze, brake fluid, engine oil, household and garden chemicals, and pesticides. Please try to use non-toxic alternatives instead. Never dispose of chemicals down your sink or drain. Please take household chemicals to your nearest recycling centre so that they can be disposed of correctly. There is a household chemical container on all the sites. These chemicals will be re-used within the chemical industry wherever possible, incinerated or turned to a solid material for disposal at landfill. If you are unable to get to a recycling centre, please phone 0113 222 4406 (Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm) to see if we can help.

Re-useable artificial trees can be donated to charity shops.

Real Christmas trees should be taken to your nearest recycling centre and put in the green/garden waste skips. They will be composted and made into soil conditioner for use in land restoration projects.

Please ensure that all decorations are removed before putting your tree in the skip.

Reduce your Christmas waste by buying cards made from recycled card and reusing good quality wrapping paper. Recycle your Christmas cards and paper in your green recycling bin or in the paper bank at your nearest bring site or recycling centre. These are recycled back into cardboard products such as packaging materials and cat litter. Remove any glittery or metallic parts from cards and recycle the rest in your green bin. You could reuse glittery or metallic parts by making them into gift tags.

Donate clean clothing that is good enough to be re-used to your local charity shop where they will be resold. Alternatively, you could organise a jumble sale or local swap shop event to pass on items that you no longer want. All textiles, even if they are ripped and paired shoes can be recycled by putting in the textile bank at your nearest bring site or recycling centre. These items will be used as second hand clothes if good enough quality, or shredded and used as filling material for example mattresses, to make recycled products or to become wiping cloths for industry.

Hot drinks paper cups are used in high street coffee shops, fast food outlets and supermarkets. These cups are lined with several layers of polyethylene (plastic). Because of this they are not suitable for recycling along with normal cardboard. Why not try a reusable cup? You can recycle your paper coffee cups in the recycling on the go bins for coffee cup in the city centre.