Where does it go?

98 things and where they actually go. Each page gives the reason for the route rather than only the route, because that is what transfers when your local service differs.

The one that matters most

Lithium batteries and disposable vapes are the single most consequential item in this list. Crushed in a collection truck or at a sorting facility they can enter thermal runaway, and battery fires are now among the leading causes of fires at waste facilities. They never belong in any household bin — kerbside recycling included.

Shop or manufacturer take-back

• Household batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, 9V) Battery collection point — a supermarket or DIY store box, or the household waste centre. Never the kerbside bin.
• Lithium-ion batteries Battery or WEEE collection point only. A lithium cell in a bin lorry is a fire, not a littering problem.
• Vapes and disposable e-cigarettes A vape shop or supermarket take-back bin. It is electrical waste with a lithium cell inside, not litter.
• Mobile phones Wipe it, then trade it in, donate it or hand it to an electricals take-back point.
• Disposable coffee cups Not the kerbside bin. Take them to a shop cup collection point, or general waste — the lid and sleeve recycle separately.
• Button and coin cells Battery collection point. Tape them first — and keep them away from small children until they go.
• Coffee pods and capsules Brand take-back scheme if aluminium; general waste for most plastic pods. Compostable ones need a food waste collection.
• Rechargeable batteries (NiMH, NiCd) Battery collection point. NiCd cells contain cadmium and are hazardous waste in most jurisdictions.
• Laptops and computers Wipe the drive, then donate, trade in or take it to WEEE recycling. The battery makes binning it a fire risk.
• Printer cartridges Manufacturer freepost return or a shop collection box. Not the kerbside bin.
• Tyres Tyre fitter or household waste centre, usually for a small fee. They are banned from landfill in the UK and EU.
• Power banks and portable chargers Small electricals collection or a battery take-back point. It is a lithium cell in a plastic shell.
• Propane and patio gas cylinders Back to the supplier or exchange point. Refillable cylinders are almost never yours to scrap.
• Bubble wrap and postal air pillows Soft plastics collection at a supermarket, or reuse it. Not the kerbside bin.
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Household waste recycling centre

• Leftover wet paint Household waste centre or a community paint reuse scheme. Liquid paint is not accepted in any household bin.
• Car batteries (lead-acid) Garage, scrap yard or household waste centre. Lead-acid is the most successfully recycled consumer product there is.
• Used motor oil Household waste centre oil bank, or a garage that accepts it. One container of it contaminates an enormous volume of water.
• Small electricals (kettles, toasters, hair dryers) Electrical waste. Household waste centre, a shop take-back point, or a kerbside small-electricals sack if your council runs one.
• Pyrex and heat-resistant glassware Never the glass bin. Ovenware is formulated not to melt like bottle glass, and one fragment can ruin a whole batch.
• Televisions and monitors WEEE recycling. Old CRT sets contain several kilograms of leaded glass.
• CFL energy-saving bulbs Household waste centre or a shop take-back point. They contain mercury and must not be binned.
• LED bulbs Small electricals recycling. No mercury, but they are electronics, not glass.
• Drinking glasses and wine glasses Not the glass bin. Tableware glass has a different composition from bottle glass.
• Smoke alarms Household waste centre or manufacturer return. Ionisation alarms contain a tiny sealed radioactive source.
• Crockery, mugs and ceramics Not glass and not recyclable at the kerb. Donate what is whole; broken pieces go to the household waste centre or general waste.
• Fluorescent tubes Household waste centre, intact. Mercury inside, and a tube that breaks in transit is a spill.
• Camping gas canisters and butane cartridges Household waste centre, as gas cylinders — not the metal skip and never a bin, whether or not they feel empty.
• Fire extinguishers Household waste centre or a fire equipment company. It is pressurised until a professional has discharged it.
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Pharmacy

• Medicines and tablets Take them back to a pharmacy. Not the bin, and — with a short list of exceptions — not the toilet.
• Asthma inhalers Pharmacy take-back. The propellant in a metered-dose inhaler is a potent greenhouse gas.

Bulky or special collection

• Fridges and freezers A licensed handler has to remove the refrigerant first. Household waste centre or a council collection — never a scrap man with a van.
• Mattresses Council bulky collection, a household waste centre, or a mattress recycler. Almost all of it is recoverable, and none of it belongs in a lay-by.
• Needles, syringes and lancets A rigid sharps bin, returned through the route your prescriber or council specifies. Never loose in any bin.
• Large appliances (washing machines, cookers, dishwashers) Household waste centre, a council bulky collection, or the retailer delivering the replacement.
• Carpet and underlay Household waste centre or a bulky collection. Cut into manageable rolls first.

General waste bin

• Used cooking oil Let it cool, seal it in a container, and put it in general waste — or take it to an oil bank.
• Polystyrene and foam packaging General waste almost everywhere. It is recyclable in principle and collected almost nowhere.
• Incandescent and halogen bulbs General waste, wrapped. They are not recyclable glass and not electrical waste either.
• Crisp packets and snack wrappers General waste, or a supermarket soft-plastics bin where one exists. Not the kerbside recycling.
• Broken glass Wrap it thickly and put it in general waste, unless it is a broken bottle or jar — those can go in the glass bin.
• Dried-out paint and empty tins Once the paint is solid, many councils take the tin in general waste or as scrap metal. Check yours, because this one genuinely varies.
• Cling film General waste. It is excluded even from soft plastic collections almost everywhere.
• Till receipts General waste. Thermal paper is coated, not printed, and it should not go in with paper or compost.
• Wet wipes and makeup wipes General waste. Never the toilet, whatever the packet says about flushability.
• Dog waste Bagged in general waste, or a dog waste bin. Not the food waste caddy, and not the compost heap.
• Nappies General waste, bagged. There is no kerbside recycling route for them anywhere in ordinary use.
• Cat litter General waste, bagged. Clay litter is not compostable, and cat faeces carry a parasite that keeps it out of the garden.
• Medicine blister packs General waste in most places, or a pharmacy collection scheme where one exists.
• Greetings cards with glitter or foil Tear off the plain card and recycle that; the glittery part goes in general waste.
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Hazardous waste collection

• Paint thinner, white spirit and turpentine Hazardous waste collection. Flammable, and lethal to a septic tank or a river.
• Pesticides, weedkiller and insecticide Hazardous waste collection, in the original container with the label intact.
• Asbestos Do not break it, do not drill it, do not sweep it. It needs a licensed route, and most household waste centres take it only by prior arrangement.
• Old petrol and diesel Hazardous waste collection. Stale fuel is still fully flammable.
• Bleach, drain cleaner and household chemicals Use them up as directed if you can. Anything left over goes to hazardous waste, in its own container.
• Mercury thermometers and thermostats Hazardous waste. Never in a bin, and never vacuum a spill.
• Antifreeze and screenwash Hazardous waste. Ethylene glycol tastes sweet and kills cats, dogs and children.
• Fertiliser, lawn feed and pool chemicals Hazardous waste. Oxidisers and concentrated fertiliser are reactive, not just polluting.

Food waste collection

• Food scraps and leftovers Food waste collection where you have one — it accepts cooked food, meat and dairy, unlike a home compost heap.
• Teabags Food waste or compost — but many bags are sealed with polypropylene, and that plastic mesh stays behind.
• Cooking fat, lard and dripping Let it solidify, scrape it into the food waste or general bin. Never down the drain, at any temperature.
• Bones Food waste collection if you have one. Never a home compost heap.
• Coffee grounds Compost heap or food waste. Good material in both, in moderation.
• Eggshells Compost or food waste. Crush them first or they will still be recognisable next year.

Kerbside recycling bin

• Pizza boxes Recyclable if the card is only greasy; not if it is soaked or has food stuck to it. Tear off the clean lid if in doubt.
• Aerosol cans Empty aerosols go in the kerbside recycling in most areas. Never pierce them, never crush them, never bin a part-full one.
• Wrapping paper Plain paper: recycle. Foil, plastic-coated or glittery: general waste. The scrunch test settles it.
• Drinks cartons (Tetra Pak) Recyclable, but only where your scheme says so — they need a mill that separates the card from the plastic and foil.
• Aluminium foil and foil trays Recyclable if it is clean. Scrunch it into a ball the size of a fist so the sorters can see it.
• Shredded paper Depends entirely on your council. Loose shreds jam sorting lines; where they are accepted it is usually bagged or in food waste.
• Plastic bottle caps Leave the cap on the empty bottle. That is now the standard advice in most places.
• Envelopes with plastic windows Kerbside paper recycling in most areas — modern pulping screens the window out.
• Black plastic food trays Historically rejected because the optical sorter could not see them. Increasingly accepted now — check your council.

Donate or reuse

• Clothes and textiles Wearable: charity shop or clothing bank. Worn out: still the textile bank — damaged clothes are sorted for fibre and rag, not landfill.
• Furniture (sofas, wardrobes, tables) Reuse first — charities collect free. Otherwise a bulky collection or the household waste centre.
• Shoes and trainers Pair them, tie them together, and put them in a shoe or textile bank. Never in the bin.
• Duvets and pillows Not the textile bank. Animal shelters take clean ones; otherwise household waste centre or general waste.
• Books Charity shop, book bank or a street library. Paperbacks are recyclable as paper; hardbacks need the boards removing.
• CDs, DVDs and cases Not kerbside recyclable. Donate playable discs; the polycarbonate needs a specialist and the cases are usually accepted separately.
• Spectacles Opticians and charity collection boxes. Frames are reused, not shredded.
• Wine corks Natural cork composts and there are collection schemes for it. Plastic "corks" go in general waste.

Garden waste collection

• Grass cuttings, prunings and leaves Garden waste collection or home composting. Keep soil, stones and treated timber out of it.
• Christmas trees Real trees: council collection or the household waste centre, where they are chipped. Artificial: reuse, then general waste.

Kerbside rules vary by council and county. Local guidance always wins over anything here.