A to Z of recycling - W
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.
Re-use
New rolls or any extra unused wallpaper could be used in reuse projects or advertised online free swap sites/ social media.
Disposal
Used wallpaper cannot be recycled due to the mix of materials (paper + glue) so will need to be disposed of in your kerbside rubbish bin
or for large quantities in the non-recycling container at any Suffolk Recycling Centre.
Recycle
Water filter manufacturers Brita have collection points for recycling cartridges at branches of Robert Dyas, Argos, Tesco, and Dunelm throughout Suffolk. Enter your postcode into the 'Locator' at the BRITA website to find your nearest recycling point.
For other water filter brands, please contact the manufacturer to find out if they provide a similar service.
Disposal
If the manufacturer is unable to accept them, you can put old filters:
in your rubbish bin
in the non-recyclable container at any Suffolk Recycling Centre
For advice on hard plastic watering cans, see "Hard Plastics"
For advice on metal watering cans, see "Metals"
Disposal
Baby wipes, cosmetics, bathroom cleaning wipes and moist toilet tissues are not recyclable and not flushable, even though some labels say they are!
You should always put them in your general rubbish bin.
How you dispose of the wet wipe packaging depends on the type of material it is: You cannot recycle combined material packaging (such as plastic and metal, or soft plastic and hard plastic). It needs to go in your general rubbish bin, unless you can separate out the materials.
You can recycle hard plastic packaging at any Suffolk Recycling Centre in the rigid plastic container.
Recycle
You can take wood, items made from wood and natural corks to any Suffolk Recycling Centre and place in the wood container.
Railway sleepers of any style (e.g. reclaimed sleepers or sleepers bought at any store typically for garden use) are not accepted at any Suffolk Recycling Centre. Please see Railway sleepers on A to Z for more information on this.
Reduce
Before thinking about reuse, recycling or disposal options for your woollens, 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
Donate wool or woollen garments in good condition to charity shops.
Recycle
Take any wool garments to:
any Suffolk Recycling Centre for recycling
Home compost
You can compost clothing made from 100% wool at home. You may want to cut off any labels as these will be made from man-made materials. If you cut the garment up into small pieces it will compost much quicker.
A wormery is a container that you can keep inside or outside. It contains special worms that eat your left-over food waste. The worms produce a rich compost and liquid fertiliser.
You can buy a reduced price wormery.
Alternatively you can make your own wormery: a basic wormery for under £5 or a more advanced tier system wormery.
See "compost bin" (or check out our home composting page)
Reduce
Think about buying an 'experience' present rather than a gift.
Re-use
Why not try an alternative wrapping paper? For some ideas, see 12 alternatives to wrapping paper.
Recycle
You can only recycle paper-based wrapping paper (you cannot recycle glittery or foil types). Please remove any tapes, ribbons and bows before recycling.
To check if your wrapping paper is recyclable, try the scrunch test! Scrunch up the paper into a ball. If it scrunches, and stays scrunched, it can be recycled. Watch this handy video to find out more!
in the kerbside recycling bin
at any Suffolk Recycling Centre in the paper container