RESOURCE USE

⌂ Be familiar with instructions to avoid contaminating your kerb side recycling from BANES Council (click on each item to see details) and look up items A to Z to know what you can recycle through BANES Council, either kerbside or at the recycling centres

⌂ If you cannot donate elsewhere, or sell, then large waste items can be collected by BANES Council for a fee

◊ Share Waste is a website and app that connects people wishing to recycle food scraps and other organic matter with neighbours who are composting, worm-farming or keeping farm animals.

◊ Soft/flexible plastics are not collected kerbside but several national retail companies have drop off recycling points in store for these items including plastic bags, crisp packets, food pouches, salad bags, cake and biscuit wrappers, bread bags, plastic film lids, plastic wraps from multibuys and sweets wrappers. Check the websites/stores for details and to avoid contamination. In Bath ⌂ you can go to Sainsburys (Green Park and Odd Down), Morrisons (London Road), Co-op (Wellsway, Larkhall, Odd Down and South Down) and Marks & Spencer who also collect clothing multipack bags including the inbuilt hangers.

◊ For hard to recycle items such as dental products, contact lens packaging, foil balloons and razors, plus brand specific recycling programmes, check Terracycle for locations of free drop-off boxes, persuade your employer to set up their own paid recycling scheme at work with their Zero Waste Box or do it yourself with friends and neighbours using Terracycle's Zero Waste Bags.

◊ Drop off empty medicine blister packs in the dedicated collection boxes in Superdrug (⌂ Westgate Street and Southgate Street, Bath)

◊ For hard to recycle beauty, healthcare and wellness products (e.g. mascara, lipsticks, make up palettes, toothpaste tubes) take back any items sold in Boots to their recycling boxes in larger stores (⌂ Newark Street/Southgate Centre in Bath)

◊ Clean, dry clothes in good condition (including underwear and socks) are accepted at BANES Council recycling centres. Some charity shops will accept poor quality or damaged clothes as “rags” (yes, this also includes old pants and socks) but contact them first to check and bag them up separately. Any condition bras can be recycled at the national programme at Marks & Spencer (⌂ Stall Street, Bath) and Bravissimo (⌂ Milsom Street, Bath) who also take swimwear.

○ Unusable bed mattresses, divans and bedframes can be collected and recycled by The Mattress Recycling People

○ Home textiles (e.g. bed linen) and clothes (even if damaged) along with selected kitchen/dining items, bulky furniture and electricals are rehomed, reused and recycled by Dunelm.

○ Not sure what to do with electricals - find out all the answers from Recycle Your Electricals. Enter your postcode and type in your item to find out where you can recycle. 

○ Let registered waste collectors compete for the job of taking away your waste at Love Junk (use the app), where re-usable items may also be collected for free