a–z materials

This A to Z gives tips on recycling a whole range of household items from Ash to Zuccinini. If you have any other recycling tips of your own we would love to hear from you. Send your top tips to us at suffolk.recycling@et.suffolkcc.gov.uk

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Paint
Click here to see the latest press release on paint waste * Try and use it up … either yourself, or give away to friends or relatives, or donate it to a charity. * If you can’t use it up or find it a good home by giving it away, for emulsion paints (83% of paint currently collected in Suffolk is emulsion), add sawdust, sand or soil to the tin and leave the lid off until the paint becomes solid and dry. You can then double wrap it and place it into your kerbside residual waste bin for collection * As a last resort, contact your local District or Borough Council to arrange for a collection (which may incur a charge). In the future, follow the guidelines on the tin of paint before buying to ensure that you buy just the amount you need for a job.

Paper
Most types of paper can be recycled in your kerbside recycling collection service, in paper bring banks or at any Household Waste Recycling Centre in Suffolk. Further details about recycling Paper

Pet Waste
The contents of the average rabbit or guinea-pig hutch (e.g. straw, wood shavings, vegetable trimmings) could be home composted in small amounts, providing your pet has a vegetarian diet. You are allowed to deposit 1 bag of pet waste (e.g. rabbit hutch material) per week in the general waste container. Excess pet waste is accepted at most landfill sites and transfer stations (please refer to your local telephone directory). You may be charged for disposal. Alternatively, your local District or Borough Council may provide a collection for this type of waste - charges may apply.

Plasterboard
Due to restrictions on disposal, plasterboard can only be accepted at the following HWRCs in Suffolk Bury St Edmunds Foxhall Lowestoft Stowmarket Plasterboard can only be accepted up to a maximum amount of two bags per household and must not be contaminated with other materials. We can only accept plasterboard that has been kept dry. Bags must not be placed in the plasterboard container.

Plastic Bags
Try and reuse plastic bags as much as possible, or buy a cloth bag. Some supermarkets provide thicker re-usable bags. They can be used to line your kitchen bin. Once your carrier bag has no life left, look out for a plastic bag carrier point at most local supermarkets or at your local Household Waste Recycling Centre. Please note crisp packets (individual or multipack bags) can not be recycled in your kerbside collection bin or at any of the Household Waste Recycling Centres in Suffolk

Plastic bottles
Most Clean plastic bottles (look out for the labelling PET '1' or '2' inside the triangular symbol on the bottle) can be placed inside your kerbside recycling collection bin. Please wash and remove the bottle tops.

Plastic Plant Pots
Plastic plant pots along with most hard/rigid plastics can currently be recycled at Hadleigh, Mildenhall, Felixstowe, Bury St Edmunds and Foxhall Household Waste Recycling Centres(HWRCs). The remaining Household Waste Recycling Centres will accept them for disposal only. Other sites but will be introducing hard/rigid plastics collection bins in the future as part of a rolling programme of site improvements. If the pots are still useable you may like to call your local garden centre/nursery to see if they can re-use them or offer them to friends/neighbours.

Plastics
Click here for further details of how to recycle plastics

Polystyrene
Unfortunately polystyrene (including polystyrene food trays)is one of those materials that cannot be recycled anywhere in Suffolk so will have to be disposed of in your waste to landfill black bin. If possible you could try and reuse it - for example as packaging for posting items or it makes good insulation material in loft spaces, shed walls etc if you have larger quantities. Avoid buying products with this kind of packaging if at all possible.