Hazardous waste disposal
Some waste produced from the home is classed as hazardous waste and therefore more care and attention is required to recycle or dispose of these materials to avoid harm to people or the environment.
Items classed as hazardous waste include:
- Antifreeze
- Asbestos (see notes below)
- Car batteries
- Car tyres
- DIY and garden chemicals
- Electrical items such as fridges, freezers, computer monitors.
- Engine oil
- Gas containers
- Household batteries
- Lead based paint
- Low energy light bulbs and fluorescent tubes (see notes below)
- Plasterboard (see notes below)
This is not a comprehensive list. Hazardous wastes require special treatment so please ask site staff if you are unsure whether the items you are disposing of should be classed as hazardous waste.
All sites accept:
- Household chemicals including gardening, DIY and engine fluids
- Low energy light bulbs and fluorescent tubes
- Electrical items
- Household batteries, toner cartridges and mobile telephones
- Car batteries, tyres (at a charge) and engine oil
- Gas containers (at a charge) if you cannot return these to your supplier or the manufacturer
Ammunition and explosives
Please do not take ammunition or explosives to a recycling site. Handle these items with care. Ammunition can be taken to a police station for disposal. Contact the local police firearms licensing department for advice on disposal of explosives.
Facilities for disposal of cement bonded and sheet asbestos are only available at these sites: Bridgwater, Frome, Highbridge, Minehead, Street, Taunton and Yeovil. For your own safety use gloves and wear a mask when handling asbestos. Leave the asbestos as whole as possible to avoid the creation of dust. Asbestos needs to be double bagged or wrapped using strong plastic and seal with tape before taking for disposal. Also call site in advance to check they have space in containers and ask for directions at site. See our asbestos disposal page for more details and guidance.
Fireworks
Do not put fireworks, even when fully spent, on the bonfire or bury. Fully spent fireworks (but not misfired or partly spent fireworks) can be put out with refuse or in disposal skips at recycling sites. Misfired or partly spent fireworks should be soaked in a container of water and the manufacturer or supplier should be contacted for guidance on disposal. This advice is from Giving your own firework display: How to run and fire it safely - available from HSE Books.
Low energy light bulbs and flourescent tubes
All of Somerset’s recycling sites have facilities for the safe recycling of low energy light bulbs and fluorescent tubes.
Some retailers have collection points for low energy light bulbs – see Recycle Now or Recolight for local details.
If you have a broken low energy bulb or tube, handle with care as they contain mercury. Although accidental breakage is unlikely to cause any health problems, it’s good practice to minimise unnecessary exposure to mercury as well as the risk of cuts from glass fragments. A vacuum cleaner should not be used to clear up a broken bulb or tube. Health Protection Agency advice is to:
- Ventilate the room (15 minutes is suggested).
- Place fragments in a plastic bag (you may wish to wear rubber gloves). The bag doesn’t need to be air tight but should be reasonably sturdy.
- Wipe the area with a damp cloth, place that in the bag.
- Sticky tape (e.g. duct tape or similar) can be used to pick up small residual pieces or powder from soft furnishings, which should then be placed in bag.
- Double bag by sealing bag and placing it in another similar bag and sealing that one as well.
When double bagged and sealed, the broken bulb can be taken to be put in the low energy light bulb bins at recycling sites. Please take care that glass fragments do not cut the sealed bags or fingers.
Medicines
Please return unused medicines to a pharmacist. If you need a clinical collection for disposal of medical waste, contact your district council for details of the free clinical waste collection service.
Plasterboard
Facilities for the recycling of plasterboard are only available at these sites: Bridgwater, Chard, Crewkerne, Frome, Highbridge, Street, Taunton, Williton and Yeovil.
Plasterboard was banned from general landfill in 2009, as it breaksdown to produce toxic and odorous gas. If you have large amounts, please phone site in advance to make sure they have sufficient space available in collection skips.
Storage Heaters
These may contain asbestos and so should not be broken up, but handled and disposal arranged in the same way as for cement bonded and sheet asbestos. See asbestos disposal page.