Islington Council offers home recycling for most residents: glass, paper, cardboard, aluminium, hard plastics, food waste and garden waste - all collected from your home. Check out their helpful A-Z of recycling which tells you what you can and can’t recycle – everything from printer cartridges to polystyrene, toothbrushes to garden furniture.
But what about items that can present a problem? Here’s some information.
LARGE ITEMS
The Council offers a Reuse Collection service for the following items as long as they are clean and in good condition: furniture, electrical equipment, dishwashers, tumble dryers, soft furnishings (with intact safety labels).
It costs from £15 for 3 items to £50 for 10 items – the maximum for one collection. Call Access Islington on 0207 527 2000 to list your items and choose a collection day.
The Council will collect some large items that can’t be reused – mattresses, furniture and cookers. This is free for residents on estates who have available lumber points.
Otherwise there’s a charge of £10 per item with a £30 minimum. (50% discount for those on Housing Benefit or receiving Council Tax support.)
For more information: www.islington.gov.uk/bulkywaste
Other ways To give items away
FREEGLE (Free Giving Locally Easily) app – people come and collect stuff you no longer need or want https://www.ilovefreegle.org
Tip tap – a free app for instant recycling of items in good condition: https://tiptapp.com/en/home
LoveJunk – an online market for bulky waste, furniture and appliances which matches you to licensed waste carriers and reuse charities via lovejunk.com or the LoveJunk app.
CLOTHES
You can donate unwanted clothes and textiles at TRAID bins throughout the borough.
TRAID offer a free home collection service if you have a lot of clothes to donate. Make an appointment direct on 020 8733 2595.
Find TRAID bins here:
Rosebery Avenue, junction with Hardwick Street
Rosebury Avenue opposite Saddlers Wells Theatre
Goswell Road, junction with Compton Street
Bath Street, junction with Galway Street
St John Street Recycling Area, Junction with Percival Street, Outside Finsbury Library,
Central Street, opposite Pear Tree Street
Sainbury's car park, Tolpuddle Street
Liverpool Rd, junction with Barnsbury Park
Clephane Road, junction with St Paul's Road
Clifton Road, junction with Nightingale Road
Essex Road, junction with Rotherfield Street
Mildmay Street outside Mildmay Library
Cumming Street, junction with Collier Street
Pentonville Road, outside Dinwiddy House
White Lion Street, outside youth centre
Caledonian Road, junction with Wynford Road
Matthias Road, junction with Wordsworth Road
Newington Green, east side
St. John's Way, junction with Mulkern Road
New Orleans Estate, Cromartie Road near Bayon House
Elthorne Estate, Holland Walk, Courthauld Road
Kingsdown Road, outside St. Paul's Court
Vorley Road, junction with Girdlestone Walk
Bemerton Estate, Earlsferry Way
Quill Street, by Playing Area
Mountview Road, junction with Crouch Hill
Highbury New Park, junction with Spring Gardens
Highbury New Park, near Collins Road
Highbury New Park, near Catherell Road
Hilldrop Crescent, junction with Hilldrop Road
Andover Estate, Woodbridge Road
Sobell Leisure Centre, Hornsey Road,
Hornsey Road, junction with Newington Barrow Way
Caledonian Road, junction with Cottage Road
Hilldrop Crescent Recycling Area, Hilldrop Crescent/Hilldrop Road,
Sunnyside Road, junction Hazelville Road
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
There are bins for small electrical items across the borough. They must be small enough to fit in the chute (usually 520 x 510 mm).
Electrical recycling sites:
Holland Walk, Elthorne Estate
Cottage Road, junction with Caledonian Road
Highbury New Park near Spring Gardens
St John Street, junction with Wyclif Street
Newington Green, east side
For larger electrical items you can book a home collection by phoning Clearabee on 0330 088 1085.
BATTERIES, PENS, CDs, BOOKS
Some supermarkets, smaller shops and libraries have battery recycling collections and the following Community Centres offer recycling:
Hilldrop N7 0JE - Batteries
Mildmay, N16 8NA - Batteries, pens, CDs, books
Girdlestone, N19 5DX - Batteries, pens, CDs, books
Brickworks, N4 4BY - Batteries, pens, CDs, water filter cartridges, books
Hornsey Lane, N19 3YS - Batteries, pens, CDs, water filter cartridges, books
Elizabeth House, N5 1ED - Batteries, pens
Walter Sickert, N1 2FB - Batteries
Andover, N7 7RN - Batteries, pens
St Luke’s, EC1V 8AJ - Batteries
Hargrave Hall, N19 5SP - Books
VAPES
The following outlets recycle vapes:
Tesco – Southgate Road (N1 1JE), Green Lanes (N16 9BS), Drayton Park (N5 1AN). New North Road (N1 8SY), Islington Green (N1 8DU), Highbury Express (N7 8JP), Hornsey (N7 8GA), Clerkenwell (EC1V 4JD)
Coop – Gainsborough Studios (N1 6SU), Angel ((N1 7FZ), Old Street (EC1V 9NP), Caledonian Road (N1 1DT)
Totally Wicked 202 Holloway Road (N7 9DS)
SOFT PLASTICS
You can now recycle soft plastics at Coop stores in Islington and at some other supermarkets. This includes crisp packets, bubble wrap, cling film, bread bags, pasta and chip packets, carrier bags, anything made of thin film (like yoghurt pots lids and pizza coverings) and wrappers for sweets, chocolate, pet food, cheese meat, baby wipes etc
OTHER RECYCLING INFO
The Council’s Reuse and Recycling Centre is at the end of Hornsey Street.
Empty blister packs or pill packets can be taken to the Superdrug stores in Chapel Market and Holloway Road for recycling.
Disposable plastic cups and sandwich cartons CAN go in your recycling bin. But cups that appear to be made of cardboard/paper are really mixed with plastic and cannot be recycled!
Left over medicines and tablets should be given to your local pharmacy.
Cooking oil can be collected in empty bottles and taken to the ReUse and Recycling Centre and home composted in small quantities.
Photos are not recyclable. You could take them for arts students to use or see if they’d be of interest to a museum or historical society.
Tools For Self Reliance finds homes for unwanted tools, including things like knitting needles.
Toys can be donated to children who need them through The Toy Project. Email j.garfield@thetoyproject.co.uk
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