Where do Treated and painted timber go?

Older pressure-treated timber, especially decking and fence posts from before the mid-2000s, was preserved with chromated copper arsenate, and burning it concentrates arsenic in the ash and puts it into the smoke. Creosoted sleepers and painted wood carry their own contaminants, including lead in pre-1980 paint. Household waste centres separate clean untreated wood, which is chipped for board and biomass, from treated wood, which goes to controlled disposal. Ash from burnt treated wood is hazardous and must not go on a garden. Sites differ on how much DIY timber they take and what they charge, so check your local rules first.

How to prepare it

1. Separate clean untreated wood from treated, painted and creosoted timber.
2. Pull out large nails and brackets where you easily can.

What not to do

• Never burn treated timber — CCA-treated wood puts arsenic into the smoke and concentrates it in the ash.
• Never spread ash from painted or treated wood on a garden.

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.