Where do Wet wipes and makeup wipes go?

Most wipes are held together by plastic fibres that do not break up in water, which is why they accumulate in sewers, catch on every irregularity and form the skeleton of a fatberg. "Flushable" is a marketing claim measured against a standard far weaker than the one toilet paper meets. Even plastic-free wipes are dense and slow to disperse, and water companies ask for all of them to be binned. They cannot be recycled or composted, so general waste is the whole answer. No collection scheme anywhere takes wipes for recycling, and your local list will say the same.

What not to do

• Never flush wipes, including flushable ones — they are the main structural component of sewer blockages.
• Never put them in food waste or compost.

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 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.
• 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.
• Cigarette butts Put it out completely, then bin it. Filters are cellulose acetate plastic, and a live butt starts bin fires.