Renfrewshire Council

What you can bring to our recycling centres

You can recycle and dispose of a range of waste materials at our household waste recycling centres across Renfrewshire.

You can bring the following items to our household waste recycling centres:

• bagged household waste
• batteries
• bricks (not available at our Renfrew centre)
• clothes
• computers
• DIY waste (there are limits on the type and amount of DIY waste you can bring)
• fluorescent tubes
• garden waste
• mattresses
• paint
• scrap metal
• small amounts of rubble (not available at our Johnstone and Renfrew centres)
• small electrical appliances
• textiles
• TVs
• white goods (such as fridges, freezers, washing machines and dishwashers)
• wood (not available at our Johnstone centre).

If you want to dispose of upholstered seating, such as chairs or sofas, you can only bring the items to our Linwood household waste recycling centre. You cannot bring upholstered seating to any of our other recycling centres.

You cannot remove any items from our recycling centres.

Read more about disposing of upholstered seating below.

What you cannot bring to our recycling centres:

• clinical waste (including COVID-19 or infectious waste and medicines)
• commercial waste
• Giant Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed
• non-household chemicals (for example, petrol)
• plasterboard
• tyres.

You cannot bring any waste that comes from a commercial or business activity. See more information on commercial waste services.

Guidance on specific items

Here are some guidelines for waste items that have to be disposed of in a specific way:

Asbestos

Asbestos cannot be re-used or recycled under any circumstances.

You can dispose of your asbestos at Paisley household waste recycling centre.

You should hire a specialist asbestos removal contractor to handle and dispose of large quantities of asbestos.

Batteries

You should not dispose of batteries in your general waste bin or recycling bins. This can cause fires or explosions at waste facilities, which could endanger waste collection crews and site staff.

You should recycle any batteries at our household waste recycling centres, including:

• single-cell household batteries (such as AA or AAA)
• car batteries
• household goods containing batteries, such as toothbrushes, toys, phones, and computers
• vapes.

Many retailers that sell batteries also have collection points where you can drop off batteries.

Fire extinguishers

We cannot take fire extinguishers at any of our household waste recycling centres. This is because they are hazardous waste.

Instead, you can hire a private waste contractor to remove your fire extinguishers or other types of hazardous waste.

See a list of registered waste carriers and brokers (SEPA website).

Engine oil

You can recycle engine oil at our household waste recycling centres. 

Make sure your used engine oil is stored in a sealed container. You should not mix engine oil with any other substance, as this makes it difficult to recycle.

Plasterboard

We cannot take plasterboard at any of our household waste recycling centres. This is because of the toxic fumes plasterboard gives off when breaking down.

Instead, you can hire a private waste contractor to remove your plasterboard waste.

See a list of registered waste carriers and brokers (SEPA website).

Rubble

You cannot bring small amounts of rubble to our household waste recycling centres in Johnstone or Renfrew.

Please take this to one of our other household waste recycling centres in Renfrewshire.

Small electrical appliances

You can take damaged or broken appliances to our small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling bins at any of our household waste recycling centres.

We are working with the Salvation Army and our electrical compliance scheme partner REPIC to bring unwanted small electrical appliances back into use.

You can bring small electrical appliances which are still in working order to our reuse hub at Paisley household waste recycling centre.

Small electrical appliances you can bring to our reuse hub include:

• kettles
• toasters
• hair dryers
• electrical children's toys
• vacuum cleaners.

Dedicated cages are available at the centre for you to place appliances in.

The Salvation Army will collect appliances from the Paisley recycling centre twice weekly. They will test all appliances at their Renfrew donation centre and those in working and re-sellable condition will then be available to buy in the Salvation Army shop.

Our household waste recycling centre attendants can help if you are unsure if you can return a small electrical appliance for reuse.

Syringes (needles)

You should not put syringes in your bins or take them to our household waste recycling centres.

Instead, you can return used hypodermic needles to your doctor's surgery or health centre for safe disposal.

If you've found a discarded syringe in an open area, or anywhere that's a danger to the public in Renfrewshire, use our online form to report the discarded syringe right away.

Upholstered furniture

If you want to dispose of upholstered seating, you can only bring the items to our Linwood household waste recycling centre. You cannot bring upholstered seating to any of our other recycling centres.

You can bring the following upholstered items to Linwood household waste recycling centre:

• armchairs
• electrical recliner chairs
• futons, bean bags, sofa cushions and floor cushions
• home office chairs
• kitchen and dining room chairs
• sofa beds
• sofas
• stools and foot stools.

Once you arrive at Linwood household waste recycling centre, place your items in the specific bin for upholstered seating. Ask our onsite staff if you are not sure where to go.

Many upholstered seating items are coated with a flame retardant containing persistent organic pollutants (or POPs). By keeping upholstered seating separate from other waste items, we can avoid contamination in the recycling process.

If your items are undamaged, in good condition and still have their fire safety labels, consider donating them to your local charity shop instead.

Wood

You cannot bring pieces of wood to our Johnstone household waste recycling centre.

Please take these to one of our other household waste recycling centres in Renfrewshire.

If you're unsure whether you can bring a certain item to one of our recycling centres, get in touch:

• phone 0300 300 0300
• email mybins@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

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