Where do Soil and turf go?

Soil is heavy and has no value to a green waste composter, so garden waste collections almost universally exclude it and reject loads containing it. Household waste centres take it as inert waste alongside rubble, generally with the same charges and limits. Before disposing of it, offer it: clean topsoil is wanted by allotment holders and neighbours filling raised beds, and it is free to give away. Soil that might be contaminated — from an old industrial plot, a fuel spill or a demolition site — is a different problem and needs testing before it moves anywhere. Charges, limits and whether turf counts as green waste are all set locally, so check your council rules first.

How to prepare it

1. Offer clean topsoil locally before paying to dispose of it.
2. Bag it in rubble sacks, half full.
3. Keep turf separate; some sites take it as green waste and some do not.

What not to do

• Never put soil in the garden waste bin; it is excluded almost everywhere and contaminates the load.
• Never move soil off a site you suspect is contaminated without advice.

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.