Where to recycle your items

Find out how to reduce, re-use or recycle various types of waste and unwanted items locally.

See also Richmond and Twickenham Friends of the Earth's guide to sustainable living, and the South London Partnership's Zero Waste Map.

Recycling, reuse and waste reduction A-Z
Item	Details
Aerosol cans (empty)	Houses and maisonettes: black box Purpose built flats: mixed container bins All: public recycling sites
Air freshener and home care products	Air freshener and home care waste can be recycled at The Refill Larder, High St, Teddington TW11 9JB Bring your recycling to a participating drop-off point at St Richards CE Primary School, Ashburnham Road, Richmond, TW10 7NL
Aluminium foil	Houses and maisonettes: black box Purpose built flats: mixed container bins All: public recycling sites
Batteries	Townmead Road Local battery retailers: find your nearest Selected local libraries (East Sheen, Ham, Hampton, Richmond, Teddington and Twickenham)
Baby food pouches and pet food pouches	These can be recycled at your local supermarkets. Find your nearest retailer
Bicycles	Donate to the Bike Project at Hampton Methodist Church Give it away via Freegle Recycle at Townmead Road Reuse and Recycling Centre
Cardboard	Houses and maisonettes: blue box Purpose built flats: mixed paper bin All: public recycling sites
Cartons (e.g. Tetra Paks)	Houses and maisonettes: blue box Purpose built flats: mixed paper bin All: public recycling sites
Clothes	Find your nearest Traid textile bank, request a free Traid doorstep collection or find out more about textile recycling charity Traid.
Computers	Find your nearest recycling point Recycle at the Reuse and Recycling Centre at Townmead Road (if we cannot send them for reuse their components will be recycled where possible)
Contact lenses	These can now be recycled at local branches of Boots and other participating opticians. Find participating opticians. Get full details.
Cooking oil	Recycle at Townmead Road Household Waste and Recycling centre
Dental care products and packaging	Recycle at the drop point at Refill Larder, 18 High St, Teddington, TW11 8EW
Drinks cans	Houses and maisonettes: black box Purpose built flats: mixed container bins All: public recycling sites
Electricals (all sizes)	Townmead Road (broken) Re-sell, charity, give away online (good condition)
Electricals (small)	Find your nearest electrical recycling points Libraries (excluding Kew and Hampton Wick) Book a bulky waste collection Recycle them for free at any Currys PC World store All electrical goods retailers must provide a free take back service for customers when they buy the same new item. This includes online retailers Recycle with textiles when booking a free home collection with Traid
Engine oil	Recycle at Townmead Road Household Waste and Recycling centre
Eyecare	Recycle your contact lenses, blister packs and foil covers at your local opticians
Food tins (clean)	Houses and maisonettes: black box Purpose built flats: mixed container bins All: public recycling sites
Food and drinks cartons (clean and dry)	Houses and maisonettes: blue box Purpose built flats: mixed container bins All: public recycling sites
Food waste	Use your kitchen food waste caddy to keep food waste separated from other waste. When your caddy is full empty your caddy contents for collection into the larger food waste box/communal bin in block of flats (if provided). To find out if your flat is suitable for this scheme, please contact foodrecycling@richmond.gov.uk Find out more about food waste recycling This portion planner provides guidance on how much food you need for each person for each meal. It's simple to use and calculates the typical serving sizes for you.
Furniture	Richmond Furniture Scheme Donate to charities such as Sue Ryder or the British Heart Foundation
Garden waste	Garden waste collection service (charges apply) Home composting
Glass bottles and jars	Houses and maisonettes: black box Purpose built flats: mixed container bins All: public recycling sites
Light bulbs	All sorts of light bulbs (fluorescent bulbs, LED, incandescent bulbs) can be recycled at Townmead Reuse and Recycling Centre You can drop off used or unwanted lightbulbs and fluorescent tubes to the recycling units at the B&Q store at Twickenham, 50 South Road, TW2 5NT.
Mattresses	Recycle at Townmead Road Reuse and Recycling Centre. Please ask a member of staff where to leave it. Free service restricted to mattresses from your permanent residence, disposal charges may apply to other mattresses. Book a bulky waste collection. This service is for mattresses from your own residential address only.
Nappies	Re-usable (or 'real') cloth nappies are kinder to the environment than single-use disposable ones so long as you do not wash/tumble dry them at high temperature. Real nappies are also cheaper than disposables in the long run, especially if you buy them second hand and use them for more than one baby. A baby goes through four to ten nappy changes daily, totalling approximately 1kg of disposable nappy waste every day. Across West London, babies produce at least 5,700 tonnes of waste resulting in overflowing of rubbish and recycling bins and up to £700,000 in disposal costs every year. If you're a Richmond resident, you can borrow a washable nappy pack at no charge from West London Waste Authority for three weeks to try out a wide range of washable nappies. Each pack contains everything you need to see whether washable nappies are right for you and for your little one(s). If you're interested in borrowing a nappy pack and making a positive environmental impact, please visit the West London Nappies website where you can sign up for a newsletter to receive regular updates on this scheme. Get information and advice on buying new real nappies, second hand real nappies and real nappy laundry services from Real Nappies for London. Early potty training can reduce nappy waste and help you save money.
Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) canisters	Never place these in your rubbish or mixed recycling for collection by the Council as there is a serious fire/health and safety risk. Recycle them via retailers (where practicable), or at the Townmead Road Household Waste and Recycling centre.
Other items	Find out how to correctly dispose your household items using the locator tool
Paper	Houses and maisonettes: blue box Purpose built flats: mixed paper bin All: public recycling sites
Printer cartridges	Can be recycled at Townmead road Reuse and Recycling Centre Send it to Recycle4Charity (free of charge)
Plastic bags and films	Larger stores of major supermarkets accept: All plastic bags, except biodegradable or compostable bags; bread bags; breakfast cereal liners; bubble wrap; delivery bags; dry cleaning bags; frozen food bags; magazine and newspaper wrappers; multi-pack wrapping; plastic marked as low-density polyethylene (LDPE) - resin ID code 4; toilet roll wrapping. Selected stores of major supermarkets also accept: Baby, pet food, detergent and cleaning pouches; biscuits and chocolate wrapping; cheese, fish and meat wrapping; cling film; crisp and sweet bags; plastic film lids; salad, pasta and rice bags. Enter your postcode to find your nearest soft plastic collection point. Click through to the store details to find out which soft plastics they collect.
Plastic bottles	Houses and maisonettes: black box Purpose built flats: mixed container bins All: public recycling sites
Plastic pots, tubs and trays (clean)	Houses and maisonettes: black box Purpose built flats: mixed container bins All: public recycling sites
Plastic flowerpots and plastic trays	Recycle your plastic flowerpots and plastic trays at Squires Garden Centre in Twickenham, Sixth Cross Rd, TW2 5PA.
Raw vegetable waste	Food recycling caddy Garden compost
Rubber bands	Deposit loose in any post box and Royal Mail will re-use them.
Shoes	Recycle pairs of shoes with clothes/textiles (must be tied together or separately bagged).
Textiles	Find your nearest Traid textile bank, request a free Traid doorstep collection or find out more about textile recycling charity Traid. Local textile banks accept clean and dry clothes (including underwear and pairs of shoes) and accessories such as handbags and belts, plus bed linen, curtains and towels. They do not accept carpets/rugs or stuffed items such as pillows, duvets and teddy bears.
Vapes (disposable)	Recycle via the retailer or with other waste electricals at Townmead Road

Up to: Household waste and recycling

Updated: 19 December 2023

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