Green recycling bin

The following items can be placed in your green bin: cardboard, paper (newspapers, magazines, junk mail, brochures and directories), plastics (milk, juice, pop,squash, washing up liquid, disinfectant and shampoo bottles), tins and cans, aerosols and squash cartons. Wash, flatten and take all tops off (bottle tops must go in black refuse bin).

Garden/organic waste recycling

Garden waste can be composted in home composting units or can be taken to the Householders Recycling Centre (HRC), in Welland Road, Dogsthorpe, where it is accepted free of charge from all domestic users. Call Peterborough Direct on 01733 747474 for details about purchasing a home compost unit.

Glass/bottle banks

An extensive network of glass banks is in place throughout the city. If you would like to recycle the glass in your refuse bin take it to a bottle bank. DO NOT place glass in your green recycling bin.

Trade waste and recycling collections

It is illegal to put waste from a business into a domestic bin. The city council can arrange for waste produced by local companies to be collected and removed for recycling and disposal.


More green ways of disposing of rubbish

IT's not just throwaway paper and cola cans that can be recycled – there is an environmentally-conscious way to get rid of almost everything.

Engine oil

One litre of oil can pollute a million litres of fresh drinking water. The Environment Agency has set up an oil care campaign to help oil users to dispose of oil responsibly. The helpline provides advice and gives details of your nearest oil recycling bank. This information can also be found by calling 0800 663366 or visit www.oilbankline.org.uk.

Glasses

Unwanted glasses can be taken to either Dolland and Aitchinson opticians or Help the Aged stores.

You can also send spectacles in good condition (no broken frames or bifocals) to the charity Vision Aid Overseas, 12 The Bell Centre, Newton Road, Manor Royal, Crawley, West Sussex. RH10 2FZ enclosing a compliments slip, so that they know who to thank.

From there they are sorted and cleaned and then passed on to a charity such as The World Sight Appeal or Vision Aid Oversees, who donate them to people in developing countries.

Vegetable peel, banana skins, human hair

About a third of the average household refuse bin is made up of waste that could be composted.

Composting saves money – there's no need to fork out on commercial products from garden centres.

Home-made compost makes an excellent soil conditioner and a rich source of plant food.

It's easy, and free! You can build a compost bin from old pallets or wood posts and wire mesh netting lined with old carpet or thick cardboard.

Cover this with a wooden lid or old carpet to keep the rain out and heat in. Items ripe for composting include kitchen waste, such as fruit skins and vegetable peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds and crushed egg shells.

Garden waste, such as grass cuttings and old plants and flowers, crumpled or shredded card and waste paper – including cardboard tubes and egg boxes. Wood ash – but not coal, and human hair and animal fur.

More local recycling information and tips online:

More information, visit www.recyclingconsortium.org.uk.

Frequently asked recycling questions - www.peterborough.gov.uk/page-9639.

Recycling in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough - www.recap.co.uk/recycling.aspx.

Reduce Reuse Recycle - Your Green Guide - www.reducereuserecycle.co.uk.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: How to Recycle Different Materials - www.recycling-guide.org.uk/rrr.html.

The Environment Agency: Recycling - www.environment-agency.gov.uk.