Where do Small electricals (kettles, toasters, hair dryers) go?

Anything with a plug, a battery or a charging port is electrical waste, and in the UK and EU that means the retailer selling you the replacement has to take the old one, and every household waste centre has a WEEE cage. The value is in the copper, the steel and the circuit boards, all of which are lost in landfill. A growing number of councils collect small electricals at the kerb in a separate bag, which is exactly the kind of local variation worth checking. Anything still working is worth offering to a repair café, a charity or a neighbour before it becomes waste at all.

How to prepare it

1. Cut nothing off — hand the appliance over with its cable attached.
2. Take out any batteries first.
3. Try a repair café before disposing of something with a simple fault.

What not to do

• Never put electricals in the general waste bin — they are WEEE, and in most of Europe that is a legal distinction, not a preference.

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.
• 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.
• Mirrors Household waste centre. The reflective backing means it is not recyclable glass.