Where do Mirrors go?

A mirror is float glass with a silver or aluminium coating and a paint layer bonded to the back, and neither the coating nor the composition suits container glass recycling. Large mirrors are also plate glass, which is thicker and harder than a bottle and dangerous to handle broken. Intact mirrors sell or give away easily and that is the better route. Broken ones are wrapped, taped and taken to a household waste centre, which will have a place for flat glass. Local sites vary on where flat glass goes and on whether it is charged, so ask when you arrive.

How to prepare it

1. Give away or sell an intact mirror.
2. Tape a broken mirror across the face before moving it so it holds together.

What not to do

• Never put a mirror in a glass bank — the backing contaminates the cullet.

Kerbside collection rules genuinely vary by council and county, and local rules always win over general guidance. The reasoning above is what transfers — if your service differs, it will usually be for a reason described here.

Other things that go to 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.