The best tool to check if something can be recycled and where is the Recycle Now website and the “What to do with” section here.
Otherwise, you can take certain items to local recycling centres. See centres by borough below or, if based in South London, there are also plenty of local recycling groups you can join to drop off your ‘unrecyclables’:
– Recycle More Southfields
– Sunray Recycle
For more difficult waste in Wandsworth, head to:
Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC)
Smugglers Way
Wandsworth
SW18 1JS
More information here.
For more difficult waste, you can visit Garth Road Household Reuse and Recycling Centre in Merton, where you can recycle many items from carpets, furniture, mattresses, white goods and many more.
To book your visit click here.
Garth Road Household Reuse and Recycling Centre
63-69 Amenity Way
Morden
SM4 4AX
Recycling Centre for Richmond upon Thames:
https://www.richmond.gov.uk/townmead_road
Also for various types of waste in Richmond, there is a detailed table here.
Townmead Road (off Mortlake Road)
Kew
TW9 4EL
Telephone: 020 8876 3281
There are many items that seem impossible to recycle, but Terracycle is a recycling champion and has launched many recycling programmes for difficult waste such as empty cosmetic containers, electric toothbrushes, razors, coffee capsules and many more!
Here is a list of the official programmes and where to recycle your items throughout the UK.
Perhaps one of the more forgotten ‘recyclables’ is the trusty phone… Most of us have one, but have you thought about where it comes from and where it will go once you’re no longer using it?
Eco Rating is a new tool from phone company O2 that helps you evaluate the impact your mobile phone has on the environment. It looks at how your phone is produced, used and disposed of, giving it a score out of 100 for durability, recyclability, repairability, resource efficiency and climate efficiency.
Useful stuff for whether you’re looking to repair or recycle your phone, or buy a new one!