Batteries, electricals and clothes: what your council says

Their warnings, in their own words

5 of the 61 councils whose lists keep them out give a warning in their entry that names fire:

• Ealing: No, thank you: “batteries can be recycled at collection points in most supermarkets and shops that sell batteries - do not put in your rubbish or recycling as they can cause fires if crushed”
• Fenland: No thanks: “No batteries, vapes or similar (they can causes fires!)”
• Hertsmere: “Batteries should never be put in any of your kerbside bins as this causes a high risk of fire.”
• Sunderland: Please DO NOT put these items in your blue bin: “Any type of batteries - they can cause fires. Instead, take them to:”; Please DO NOT put these items in your blue bin: “Small electrical items containing batteries - they can cause fires. Instead, take them to:”
• Wolverhampton: “batteries ✖”; “Do not place batteries inside your recycling or domestic bin as this can cause fires.”

Collected with the bin, not inside it

• Blaby: “Batteries are accepted on top of your recycling bin. Please place them in a sandwich bag for collection.”
• Buckinghamshire: Batteries · Loose in a small clear bag on top of any bin
• Cambridge: Batteries · Tied bag on top of any bin lid
• Central Bedfordshire: Household batteries · Instead: Bag separately, place next to your recycling or refuse bin
• City of Edinburgh: Batteries and small electrical items · Instead: Clear bag on top of, or beside, your recycling box; Batteries · Clear bag on top of your recycling box
• Folkestone and Hythe: “We collect used batteries with your fortnightly paper recycling. Just put them in a small, clear plastic food bag on top of your black box or recycling bin.”
• Lambeth: Batteries · Undamaged: tied carrier bag on top of the green bin
• Milton Keynes: Household batteries · Yellow battery bag on top of your green bin
• Nottingham: Batteries · Instead: Clear bag on top of bin on bin day; Batteries · Clear bag on top of bin on bin day
• Pendle: “Put your used batteries into any strong, clear plastic bag (new or used).”; “On your next recycling day, put your bag of batteries on the lid of your blue or brown bin, or by the side of your green box.”; “Please don't put them into the bins or the box.”; “We can now take batteries as part of our recycling collections.”
• Portsmouth: Batteries · Clear bag on top of the rubbish bin
• Reading: Household batteries · Clear bag on top of recycling bin lid
• Rother: “Batteries (please place in a separate carrier bag and place next to or on top of your bin (NOT INSIDE YOUR BIN)”
• Sandwell: Batteries · Clear bag on top of the blue lid bin on collection day
• South Cambridgeshire: Batteries · Tied bag on top of any bin lid
• Teignbridge: “put your batteries, cartridges, and mobile phones in a small, clear plastic bag for collection.”; “place them on the top of your box so that they can be seen.”; “small household batteries (i.e. AA, AAA etc.)”
• West Oxfordshire: “Put household batteries in an old envelope/plastic bag and leave it on top of your recycling wheelie bin.”

Collected in a separate bag

• Bristol: Batteries, including household rechargeable, they must be in a small clear untied bag
• Cheltenham: “Put household batteries or vapes in a plastic bag and place inside a recycling box. Please tie all bags.”
• Cotswold: “Use an old carrier bag to recycle batteries. Keep them separate from other electrical recycling. Place your bag inside either recycling box.”; “You can recycle AAA, AA, C, D, 9v, button, mobile and laptop batteries.”
• East Devon: “Used household batteries - place in a clear plastic bag.”
• North Somerset: Bag each of the following items separately in a carrier bag or clear plastic bag and tie loosely to keep them dry: “batteries”
• Somerset: Small household batteries – Put in a tied plastic bag.

What the councils that say both keep out

• Dumfries and Galloway: “Do not put used electronic cigarettes, vapes or batteries in your recycling bin.”; “Use the pink recycling bag provided for used household batteries.”

Their warnings, in their own words

2 of the 31 councils whose lists keep them out give a warning in their entry that names fire:

• Fenland: No thanks: “No batteries, vapes or similar (they can causes fires!)”
• Sunderland: Please DO NOT put these items in your blue bin: “Disposable vapes - they contain batteries and can cause fires. Instead please take them to:”

Collected with the bin, not inside it

• Buckinghamshire: Vapes · Instead: Clear bag on top of your recycling bin lid
• Dumfries and Galloway: “Do not put used electronic cigarettes, vapes or batteries in your recycling bin.”; “For used vapes and electronic cigarettes. use your own A5-size, clear, sealable bag and place it on top of your bin for collection.”

Collected in a separate bag

• Cheltenham: “Put household batteries or vapes in a plastic bag and place inside a recycling box. Please tie all bags.”
• North Somerset: Bag each of the following items separately in a carrier bag or clear plastic bag and tie loosely to keep them dry: “vapes”
• Somerset: Vapes – Keep separate and put in a small tied plastic bag.

Their warnings, in their own words

1 of the 45 councils whose lists keep them out gives a warning in its entry that names fire:

• Sunderland: Please DO NOT put these items in your blue bin: “Small electrical items containing batteries - they can cause fires. Instead, take them to:”

Collected with the bin, not inside it

• Buckinghamshire: Electrical items · Instead: Carrier bag on top of your recycling bin; Small electricals · In a carrier bag on top of your recycling bin
• Central Bedfordshire: Small electrical items · Instead: Bag separately, place next to your recycling or refuse bin
• Chelmsford: “We can collect small electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that are no bigger than your green recycling box.”; “You need to out the item in a separate plastic bag beside green recycling box on your collection day.”; “Calculators | Green recycling box”
• City of Edinburgh: Batteries and small electrical items · Instead: Clear bag on top of, or beside, your recycling box; Small electrical items · On top of or next to your recycling box, smaller than a microwave
• Lambeth: Small electrical items · Toaster-size max; tied bag on top of the green bin
• Merthyr Tydfil: “You can now recycle small, handheld, unwanted electrical items by placing them in a clear bag at the side of, or on top of your recycling container.”
• Reading: Small electricals · Clear bag next to red bin on collection day

Collected in a separate bag

• Bristol: Small electrical items, must be put in an untied plastic bag
• Cheltenham: “You can put small electrical items in your recycling box, inside a plastic bag.”
• Cotswold: “Use an old carrier bag to recycle small electrical items. Put the bag inside either recycling box.”; “You can recycle small appliances, children’s toys, mobile and digital phones, cameras, games consoles, tablets, e-readers, fairy lights, electrical cables and chargers.”
• East Devon: “Small electrical items - kettles, toasters, irons, old household cables (tied). Please bag separately from clothing/shoes.”
• North Devon: “Small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) such as kettles, toasters and mobile phones. Loose cables (mobile phone and computer cables) can also be recycled. Items should be no larger than a standard-sized carrier bag. Please place in a bag on top of your recycling”
• North Somerset: Bag each of the following items separately in a carrier bag or clear plastic bag and tie loosely to keep them dry: “small electrical appliances including all household appliances smaller than a standard domestic toaster. For example, kettles, radios, clocks, keyboards, cables, irons, watches, hair dryers and phones”
• Somerset: Small household electrical items – No bigger than a carrier bag (such as kettles or toasters). Put in an untied plastic bag. TVs, monitors and microwaves cannot be collected.
• Torridge: “Small electrical items are also accepted but they should be presented inside a carrier bag within the green box.”

Kept out of the recycling

• Tower Hamlets: Mobile phones

Collected with the bin, not inside it

• Teignbridge: “put your batteries, cartridges, and mobile phones in a small, clear plastic bag for collection.”; “place them on the top of your box so that they can be seen.”; “small household batteries (i.e. AA, AAA etc.)”

Collected in a separate bag

• Cotswold: “Use an old carrier bag to recycle small electrical items. Put the bag inside either recycling box.”; “You can recycle small appliances, children’s toys, mobile and digital phones, cameras, games consoles, tablets, e-readers, fairy lights, electrical cables and chargers.”
• North Devon: “Small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) such as kettles, toasters and mobile phones. Loose cables (mobile phone and computer cables) can also be recycled. Items should be no larger than a standard-sized carrier bag. Please place in a bag on top of your recycling”
• North Somerset: Bag each of the following items separately in a carrier bag or clear plastic bag and tie loosely to keep them dry: “mobile phones”

Where their lists name the general waste bin

• Cheshire East: Clothing and textiles · Instead: worn out: black bin
• Greenwich: Clothes and textiles · black top bin
• Milton Keynes: Old clothes · poor quality black bin
• Newcastle upon Tyne: Textiles · worn out goes in the green bin

What the councils that say both keep out

• Somerset: Bedding and curtains

Collected with the bin, not inside it

• Central Bedfordshire: Textiles and shoes · Instead: Bag separately, place next to your recycling or refuse bin
• Chelmsford: “If you are recycling clothes or shoes, we would encourage you to donate them to a charity shop.”; “However, if you do put them out with your recycling, you need to put them in a separate plastic bag and leave them outside your green recycling box.”; “Clothes and shoes (clean clothing that can be worn again or paired shoes with soles intact) | Green recycling box”
• Somerset: Textiles – Only clothes of good enough quality to be worn again (that you would take to a charity shop). Put in a tied bag (to keep dry) and put on top of a recycling box.
• West Oxfordshire: “Put textiles in a carrier bag next to your recycling wheelie bin.”; “We will collect shoes, slippers, clothes, blankets, towels, bed sheets and curtains.”

Collected in a separate bag

• Cornwall: “Put clean and dry clothing, shoes, towels and sheets in a tied bag and place at the top of your recycling box.”; “clean and dry clothes and shoes”
• Cotswold: “Use an old carrier bag to recycle textiles and shoes. Tie the bag to keep textiles dry. Place the bag inside either recycling box with the lid on.”; “You can recycle clothing, hats, gloves, belts, scarves and handbags.”
• East Devon: “Reusable clothes/shoes - No mattress protectors. Please bag clothes/shoes. Please do not use black refuse bags.”; “Small electrical items - kettles, toasters, irons, old household cables (tied). Please bag separately from clothing/shoes.”
• North Devon: “Clothes and textiles can be put in your green bag for recycling again.”; “We can accept dry, undamaged clothes, undamaged shoes (in pairs) and undamaged blankets and bedding sheets”
• North Somerset: Bag each of the following items separately in a carrier bag or clear plastic bag and tie loosely to keep them dry: “clothes in a reusable condition”; Bag each of the following items separately in a carrier bag or clear plastic bag and tie loosely to keep them dry: “shoes (tied in pairs)”
• Torridge: “We also accept 1-3 items of good quality clothing per week which should be placed in your green bag.”

Where their lists name the general waste bin

• North Lanarkshire: Light bulbs · Instead: General waste bin
• Plymouth: Lightbulbs · Instead: Brown general waste bin or bags