As anyone who reads the blog will know, at Freshbinz Ltd we’re concerned like most people about recycling and waste disposal. When we’re out cleaning your wheelie bins we sometimes see examples of items that people have put next to their bins in the hope that the refuse collectors will take them but have been left because they fall outside the items they are allowed to take.
What’s the next step in this case? For those of us who are able it’s usually to take it to the local tip. But more often these days your local tip will have their regulations regarding the things and indeed the number of things you’re allowed to dispose of.
So, what are these things that even your local tip won’t allow? You won’t be surprised to hear that clinical waste, ammunition, and dead animals are amongst the things that your local refuse centre would be most unhappy to see.
But other items are more of a grey area, take chemical waste, you may think you don’t have chemical waste, surely that’s only applicable to industry. But no, there are things we all have that your local recycling centre counts as chemical waste such as oil-based paint, varnishes, paint stripper, and even creosote.
So, how should you dispose of these things? You can’t leave them out with your general household waste, and you can’t take them to the tip. You’ll be glad to know that most councils will arrange the collection of these items for a small fee.
Household fire extinguishers, gas canisters and gas cylinders are other items that your local recycling centre would not be happy to see and can also be collected by your council by special arrangement.
There is one thing, however, that is so dangerous that nobody wants it! Japanese Knotweed. Hard to believe that a plant can be considered so dangerously invasive that it must have its own method of disposal.
According to the government website, you must inform the Environment Agency that you have the plant on your property. You must then have it sent to a landfill site with the correct type of permit and you must use a registered waste carrier to deliver it.
At Freshbinz Ltd we knew that Knotweed was invasive but had no idea that the rules for disposal were so rigid. We hope you never see it on your property, but if you’re unfortunate enough to come across it, the Environment Agency is your first port of call.
You learn something new every day.