Electrical, clinical and hazardous waste

COVID-19 Waste disposal advice

Electrical waste

These are any items which use electricity – including both mains and battery powered. Many electrical and electronic items contain small quantities of materials which are hazardous, and valuable materials such as precious metals. Electrical and electronic items must not be thrown away in the rubbish or recycling bins at home.

Reduce: Where possible, try to get your broken electrical items repaired.

Reuse: Offer electrical items in good condition and full working order through:

  • charity shops (find your nearest charity)
  • online reuse network or market
  • car boot or jumble sale
  • friends, neighbours or relatives (such as 're-gift' unwanted gifts next Christmas)
  • Mildenhall Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) takes small Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) for testing and re-use (run by Crack On charity)
  • Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) at Bury St Edmunds, and Foxhall, Ipswich – the items are collected from the HWRC's, tested and then sold at The Benjamin Foundation Reuse Shop at Bury St Edmunds HWRC and Foxhall HWRC

Recycle:

Alternatively, for a fee we can collect and dispose of large electrical items such as fridges or washing machines as part of our bulky items service.

For more information on the best way to deal with waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) look at our recycling A-Z

Clinical waste

Clinical waste is anything that poses a threat to others because there is a risk of infection. We provide a free clinical waste collection service for households in the area. If you need this service you will need to ask for approval by your healthcare professional. After you have approval, contact us to organise the service.

COVID-19 Waste disposal advice

Sharps disposal

A sharps bin is a specially designed yellow rigid box with a lid that's available on prescription (FP10 prescription form) that can be dispensed, along with your medication.

You can hand over a full sharps bins at any of these pharmacies:

Please make sure that the sharps bins are filled to the level line before taking them to the pharmacy.

If you want to pick up a new sharps bin when you handover your full one you will need to have your prescription for a sharps bin with you.

Hazardous waste

Hazardous waste is anything that is harmful to health or the environment; this could include pesticides, animal poison, paint or asbestos. Household recycling centres will accept some types of hazardous waste, for details see: Suffolk – Hazardous waste

We can collect and dispose of some hazardous waste for a fee. If we cannot collect it, we will be able to offer advice about the best way to dispose of it.

Non-domestic organisations, such as businesses, charities, schools and farms, can find information about hazardous waste collections on the Suffolk Recycling webpage

Asbestos

Asbestos should only be removed by a professional. Small amounts of lower risk asbestos which is found in sheeting, down pipes, ironing boards and water tanks can be collected.

To dispose of bigger amounts you will need to use a contractor. You can check them against the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) register to ensure that they are registered.

Paint

Paint should be dried out before being disposed of. You can do this by mixing liquid paint with sawdust or soil, once the paint is dried you can put it in your black bin for collection. Dried out paint can also be taken to one of the 11 Suffolk Household Recycling Centres in the area, liquid paint is not accepted. Or, contact us to arrange collection and disposal of liquid paint, there is a charge for this service.