Refuse and Recycling

What happens to the items collected at the kerbside for recycling? To find out, click here

What's wrong with plastic?
Instead of biodegrading, plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. In some parts of the ocean there are now six times more of these particles than there are plankton, the tiny organisms that form the bottom of the food chain. Plastic washed up on Britain's beaches has risen by 121% since 1994.

Your unwanted items could be just what other people are looking for. If you don't think they are good enough to go to a charity shop, you could dispose of them usefully through

Jumble sales: you can search for these in Events in the Oxford Mail

Swap Shops - run by Headington Community Action Groups at:

Headington Community Centre, Gladstone Rd (off London Road) on the 3rd Saturday of each month, 11 am to 1 pm. (You can phone 01865 765 557 the day before to make sure the Swap Shop is going ahead; occasionally one has been cancelled but cancellations are rare.)
Bullingdon Community Centre, Peat Moors (off The Slade) on the 2nd Saturday of each month, 11 am to 3 pm. (You can phone 01865 761 113 the day before to make sure the Swap Shop is going ahead; occasionally one has been cancelled but cancellations are rare.)

The Oxford branch of Freegle (formerly Oxford Freecycle - now part of the UK-based Freegle organisation). This is particularly useful for large items that you can't easily take anywhere yourself. It's amazing what people are eager to pick up. You don't have to disclose your phone number along with your address, as all arrangements can be made by e-mail. (If you were a member of the Freecycle group, you will have become a member of Freegle automatically. For an explanation of why this change has been made, click here.)

If you have any undamaged empty 75 cl vodka/gin/ Bacardi bottles or any other interesting bottle, or Marmite glass jars (medium or large size), an Oxford firm, Squashed Bottles, would love to have them to turn them into dishes and clocks.

The Oxford Cycle Workshop (Tel 0845 313 8439) will be glad to accept any unwanted bikes for recycling. They offer training and life skills to disadvantaged young people through the process of bike refurbishment.

BRITA waterfilter cartridges can now be recycled
They can be dropped off at Argos or Robert Dyas and also at Tesco (Superstore, Cowley Retail Park, only), as well as at other shops. BUT please DON'T put them into your blue box/wheelie.

If you have any of the above that you wish to dispose of, the organisation 'GIVEACAR' can arrange for collection within a few days and for the car, motorbike, etc to be sent to scrap or auction. All the proceeds, after administrative costs, will be donated to a charity of your choice. For details, click here.

If the item is still working perfectly well, the British Heart Foundation, which has a shop in Headington, as well as in the city centre (St Ebbe's) will be pleased to accept it but check on their website first, as there are some exceptions (eg electric blankets) - click here

If you have any small electrical item that has ceased to function, Curry's will accept it for recycling in any of their larger stores eg the one in Botley), even if it wasn't bought in a Curry's shop. Curry's emphasise that you do not need to purchase anything from them in order to do this.

Mobile phones, digital cameras, laptops, MP3 players and sat navs M&S has started gadget recycling and is asking for the public to send in a range of electrical items, which can be donated to the Woodland Trust.

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