A to Z of recycling - A

Find out how to recycle, reduce, re-use and dispose of many items in Suffolk.

Please use the search bar at the top of the page or browse the A to Z to find the item you want to dispose of.

Remember that your item might have more than one name or may be listed under the name of the material it is made of.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Aerosols

Recycle

You can recycle aerosols (however please remove plastic lids and caps first):

in your kerbside recycling bin, if they are empty and not squashed

in metal containers at any Suffolk Recycling Centre if they are empty

at most can banks if empty and do not squash them.

If the aerosols can contains hazardous material, do not place them in your bin or the metal banks/containers. Please see Hazardous Waste page for disposal advice.

If the aerosols contains a plastic lid please remove it, if the plastic lid is over 4cm this can go in your recycling bin. However if it's smaller than 4cm then please place in your non-recyclable bin.

Air beds

Reduce

Before thinking about reuse, recycling or disposal options for your air bed, have you considered whether it could be repaired?

There are several repair cafes and groups in Suffolk who offer free help to local communities. Please visit this page to find out more.

Re-use

If your air bed is in a good condition, offer to charity shops or through an online re-use network.

You can also take old or unwanted gently used items to any Suffolk Recycling Centre and to put them in the orange re-use containers at site. These items can then be used to support local charities. Check which items are accepted (PDF, 2MB).

Sell it through a car boot sale, jumble sale, or online market place. You could also give it to friends, neighbours or relatives.

Disposal

This plastic is not currently recycled. You can dispose of it:

in your kerbside rubbish bin

in the non-recyclable container at any Suffolk Recycling Centre

Air fresheners

For advice on aerosol air fresheners, see "Aerosols" entry above

For advice on hard plastic air fresheners, see "Plastic (Hard)"

For advice on electric air fresheners, see "Small electrical items"

Ash

Recycle

Place natural untreated wood ash in the hardcore rubble container or there is a separate bin for this at any Suffolk Recycling Centre.

Home compost

You can home compost wood ash:

in your home compost bin.
by digging it into your garden as a fertilizer.
by adding it to a compost heap. It can help to keep slugs and snails off your vegetable patch.

Disposal

You cannot compost coal ash. When ash has cooled, you should wrap it and put in your kerbside rubbish bin or

put it in the ashes only bin at any Suffolk Recycling Centre.

Asbestos

Disposal

Asbestos is an extremely hazardous material so you cannot take it to any Suffolk Recycling Centre.

Please do not attempt to do anything which disturbs it.

Be aware that it may be exposed inadvertently when carrying out renovation or extension work.

For further advice on the disposal of asbestos, read about Asbestos in the home (PDF, 753KB) or contact your local district or borough council.

Astroturf

Recycle

There are some specialist companies that can recycle astroturf and you can search for them online.

Disposal

Astroturf can't be recycled by your council services so:

if you have small quantities it can go in your kerbside rubbish bin

for larger quantities it can go in the non-recyclable container at any Suffolk Recycling Centre