Special types of waste | Household waste and recycling

Some types of waste have special arrangements for disposal. This may be because the waste can be hazardous if not handled carefully, or because there are specials ways of recycling.

The table below lists special types of waste and how you should dispose of them.

Waste type	What to do
Asbestos	You must dispose of asbestos waste at a specially licensed site.
Batteries (household)	Thurrock libraries and some local supermarkets have battery recycling boxes. You can also dispose of household batteries at Linford Household Waste and Recycling Centre.
Brita filter cartridges	Contact Brita for information on recycling.
Clinical waste	Clinical waste includes infectious items, identifiable human tissue, needles from syringes – go to disposing of clinical waste.
Dead animals	We will collect and remove dead animals from public highways and council-owned land – report a dead animal for removal.
Gas bottles	Check on the bottle for a return phone number. Alternatively, contact garden centres, camping shops or the Environment Agency.
Japanese Knotweed	Japanese Knotweed must not be put in any bin that we provide. It is classed by law as 'controlled waste' and must be disposed of safely at a licensed landfill site. Soil containing Japanese Knotweed material can be regarded as contaminated. If taken off a site, must be disposed of at a licensed landfill site and buried to a depth of at least 5m. You must employ a contractor licensed to remove and legally dispose of Japanese Knotweed as controlled waste. Licensed contractors include the following. A.G. Mitchell Countryside, Maldon, Essex : 01621 334 994 or 07979 466 422 : [email protected] Ambassador Services, Ongar, Essex : 01277 363 303 Andrew Smith Weed Control Services : 01277 264 651 Eco Control Solutions, Leeds : 01132 249 555
Medicine	You should take unwanted medicines – tablets or liquids – to your local chemist or pharmacy for safe disposal.
Petrol	We do not have facilities for recycling or disposing of petrol. You may try returning it to the garage from where it was purchased or, for specific situations, contact the Environment Agency.
Plastic bags, plastic wrappings and other soft plastics	You can take plastic bags and other kinds of soft plastics to supermarket collection points. For a list of local supermarkets that recycle these plastics, and the types of plastic they accept, go to Recycle Now: plastic bags and wrapping.
Sanitary waste (infectious)	Infectious sanitary waste, including dressings and pads, is a type of clinical waste – go to disposing of clinical waste.
Stoma bags	Please empty the contents down the toilet and seal the bag in a plastic bag. It may then be placed in your green/grey wheeled bin. Stoma bags are not classed as clinical waste.
Syringes with needles	You can safely dispose of clinical sharps – needles, syringes, lancets or needle clippers – for free in boxes we provide some local pharmacies. Go to safe disposal of 'sharps' for a list of pharmacies that have these boxes.