How to recycle wood, paper and cardboard
If you need to recycle large wooden items, you can book a bulky waste collection.
Freecycle is another way to pass on unwanted items.
Wood and timber
Reuse surplus wood whenever possible. Offcuts of clean timber can be used in wood burning stoves.
You can recycle wood at the tip.
Drink and milk cartons
Recycle them in your recycling bin.
Books
Use library to reduce amount of unwanted books. Consider donating unwanted books to local charity shop.
You can recycle books at the tip.
Cardboard
Cardboard can be used as animal bedding, ripped up and added to compost heap, and sheets can be used as mulch to supress weeds.
Recycle cardboard in your recycling bin. Large corrugated cardboard should be flattened and taken to the tip.
Cards
Consider reusing greeting cards as gift tags. Cards with glitter, glue, over-printed in foil or a 3D image cannot be recycled.
Recycle cards in your recycling bin.
Gift wrapping paper
Reuse good quality wrapping paper. Use string and wool to wrap presents, as tape stuck on wrapping paper cannot be recycled.
Recycle wrapping paper in your recycling bin.
Magazines and newspapers
Donate magazines and papers to friends, relative, colleagues or local doctor’s surgery.
Recycle magazines and papers in your recycling bin.
Paper
Consider using recycled paper, as it requires 28% less energy to make than virgin paper, and uses less chemical treatment.
Recycle magazines and papers in your recycling bin, if not laminated.
Wooden furniture
Consider donating, if in good enough condition.
If it is in poor condition, you can recycle wooden furniture at the tip.
You can also book a bulky waste collection.
Stamps
Many charities collect postage stamps. Send them to your local Oxfam shop, or alternatively for Royal National Institute of Blind People send to:
Stamp Recycling
PO Box 185
Benfleet
SS7 9BH
Telephone: 0845 3450054
Tetra paks
Recycle Tetra paks in your recycling bin. Do not forget to give them rinse and squash before recycling.