Very Easy Recycling Activities

Here are a list of very simple recycling activities. They are a great place to start for those new to recycling and the 3Rs.

Each activity is listed according to the material that goes with the activity. We have listed them in alphabetical order. We have included organisations to contact for each material.

Aluminium Drinks Can, Cans, Tin Cans

These can be put in the black recycling box. There are recycling banks for metal food and drink cans in Old Trafford at:
• Bath Crescent, off Stanley Road
• Car park on Cornbrook Park Road, end of Malvern Row
• Dudley Close, off Bold Street, Seven Sisters
• Old Trafford Community Centre car park (Blair Street)
• White City Retail Park
• The Throstle’s Nest pub, Seymour Grove

contacts

Trafford Recycling

Aluminium Foil

Clean aluminium foil and milk bottle tops can be put in the black recycling box. See Black Box Recycling Scheme. See Alupro’s website for more information on aluminium foil recycling.

Animal Droppings, Dog Poo, Pet Droppings

Vegetarian pet droppings & litter can be recycled in a compost bin. Dog and cat droppings must be placed in your rubbish bin -do not compost them. Please make sure that it is securely wrapped in a paper bag or newspaper before disposing of it. If out and about please place your dog’s waste in a special dog litterbin. Keep some old bags in your pocket to put over your hand to scoop the poop with!

Batteries, Car batteries, Rechargable batterie

Household batteries including mobile phone and laptop batteries can be recycled by putting them in the battery recycling bag then placing this in the black recycling box. To get more bags contact EMERGE.

Car Batteries are accepted at Trafford’s Household Waste Recycling Centres e.g. Chester Rd Stretford. Some car parts and accessories shops will also accept them for recycling.

VARTA, Ever Ready Recycling and Panasonic UK Ltd take their own Rechargeable Batteries back for recycling.

contacts

EMERGE Recycling

  • Units E1- E4, New Smithfield Market, Whitworth Street East, Higher Openshaw, , M11 2WJ.
  • tel:
    0161 223 8200
  • web:
    www.emergemanchester.co.uk
Ever Ready Recycling

  • FREEPOST LOL 2311, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU5 4YY.
Panasonic UK Ltd

  • Panasonic House, Willoughby Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8FT.
Trafford Council
VARTA

  • FREEPOST 154, Staines, Middlesex.

Black Box Scheme, Sort-IT

In Old Trafford this scheme collects paper, glass jars and bottles, batteries, cans, tins, aerosols, clean aluminium foil, plastic bottles, thin card, telephone directories, and envelopes. You can also recycle textiles and paired up shoes in the box - put them in a separate carrier bag so they stay dry and clean. Batteries can be recycled in a special Battery Bag provided by Emerge. Contact EMERGE if you don’t have a black box. EMERGE recycling collect your box (on behalf of the council).Please put your box out (with your green sack of paper for recycling and transparent bag of plastic bottles for recycling) at the front edge of your property before 8.30am, making sure it is visible from the street. Please note that the kerbside collection doesn’t apply (at the moment) to residents of low rise and high rise flats.

contacts

EMERGE Recycling

  • Units E1- E4, New Smithfield Market, Whitworth Street East, Higher Openshaw, , M11 2WJ.
  • tel:
    0161 223 8200
  • web:
    www.emergemanchester.co.uk
Trafford Recycling

Books

Support your local libraries. Libraries save the need for a lot of books to be printed. Books do not recycle very well due to the ink oxidising. The more people who use the library the more the library can justify buying more books. It is also cheaper for council tax to be spent buying one book for everyone than everyone buying their own books.

Donate unwanted books to charity shops e.g. the Oxfam Bookshop on Wilbraham Rd in Chorlton, jumble sales and schools, or sell them to second-hand bookshops. You could also give them away on Freecycle or sell them on ebay. Books can be borrowed from a friend/relative or can be bought from second-hand shops and charity shops. Books should not be placed in paper recycling banks due to the strong glue used to bind the pages. Look out for the specialist book banks however.

contacts

Freecycle
Old Trafford Library
Trafford Freecycle

Carrier Bags, Plastic Bags

Re-use and refuse! Some supermarkets have collection containers for used plastic carrier bags, such as Morrison's in Chorlton and Sainsbury in Salford Regent's Park.

contacts

One Less Bag
The Unicorn Grocery

Christmas Trees, Xmas Trees

Many parks in the area offer Christmas Tree collection points. Check Trafford Today at Christmas time to learn where collection is available. They can also be taken to the household waste recycling centres at Chester Rd, Stretford or Sinderland Road, Broadheath.

contacts

Household Waste Recycling Centres

Clothes, Shoes, Textiles

Donate all your unwanted clothing and household items to local charity shops instead of throwing them away. Clothes and shoes in good condition can be recycled in your black box.

Crockery, Dishes

Can be donated to charity shops. Broken crockery can be used to make mosaics or other art projects.

Drinking Water

When you are trying to run the cold tap cool, fill up a jug with the unwanted warm water instead of letting it drain away and then place in the fridge to chill. Next time you need cold water just go to the fridge, or follow the above when the jug is empty.

contacts

Trafford Council

Egg Shells

Cleaned and crushed eggshells can be added to your compost as they contain lime which helps to reduce acidity. When sprinkled around shrubs and plants they can deter slugs.

Fax Junk Mail

If you receive junk mail through your fax that you do not want, register with the Fax Preference Service at 0845 070 0702.

contacts

Fax Preference Service

General Items

Freecycle is an online community that encourages the free “gifting” of unwanted items to others. Membership is free. Swapxchange is a simple, innovative idea that encourages reuse and the exchange of goods, ideas and information in your community, place an ad or search for items for free.

contacts

Freecycle
Swapxchange
Trafford Freecycle

Bottles, Glass Bottles, Jars

Place clean unbroken glass bottles and jars in your kerbside black recycling box. Alternatively, take them to your nearest bottle bank. There are recycling banks for glass bottles and jars at:
• Bath Crescent, off Stanley Road
• Car park on Cornbrook Park Road, end of Malvern Row
• Dudley Close, off Bold Street, Seven Sisters
• Old Trafford Community Centre car park (Blair Street)
• White City Retail Park
• The Throstle’s Nest pub, Seymour Grove

Glass recycling uses 20% less energy and produces 20% less air pollution than in its original production. Most glass jars and bottles contain a percentage of recycled material, even though manufacturers do not always state this on the label. Glass jars can be reused as storage containers or for home made preserves or pickles. Empty wine bottles also make good candle holders and vases.

Try to buy refillable and returnable bottles where possible. For example, buy milk and fruit juices from your local milkman who will collect empty bottles. Check Yellow Pages for your local milk delivery firm.

contacts

EMERGE Recycling

  • Units E1- E4, New Smithfield Market, Whitworth Street East, Higher Openshaw, , M11 2WJ.
  • tel:
    0161 223 8200
  • web:
    www.emergemanchester.co.uk
Trafford Recycling

Junk Mail

You can choose not to receive unsolicited mailings by contacting The Mail Preference Service.

contacts

Mail Preference Service

Leaves

Leaves are best composted separately because they can take up to two years to decompose. Either collect leaves into a heap and allow to decompose naturally or place wet leaves in a plastic bin bag and twist or tie the top to seal. When ready, the leaves will have made a dark coloured leaf-mould that can be used as mulch to put on the garden.

Kitchen Roll Tubes, Toilet Roll Tubes

Buy toilet and kitchen rolls made from recycled paper. Most supermarkets produce their own brand or stock Nouvelle. If the tubes are thin cardboard, you can recycle them in your Black Box (See Black Box Recycling Scheme).

They are good toys for small rodents such as hamsters. Use as germination pots. Fill with compost and then sow runner beans or similar types of seeds inside the tubes. Once the beans have reached a suitable size and hardened off they can be planted in the garden or allotment leaving the tube in place. The tube disintegrates naturally.

Yoghurt Pots

Make excellent plant pots and glue pots.