Food Banks

Food must be unopened and within ‘Use by’ date.

Trussel Trust has branches all around the UK.

Food banks don’t just take food.  Some accept household cleaning products as well.  Find your local foodbank and check what they accept.

Local refugee centres and Homeless charities are also worth investigating.

Single-use pods used in many coffee machines can not normally be recycled except by Nespresso.

Some brands/types of coffee pods (and other difficult-to-recycle items) can be collected by a company called TerraCycle, who recycle them to create new products such as plastic baby bibs, notebook covers and park benches.

Food banks can also accept household cleaning products. Contact your local foodbank and check what they accept.

Trussel Trust has branches all around the UK.

These could also be donated to your local Women’s refuge or refugee centre.

Marigold Gloves can be recycled via the TerraCycle UK website

Beauty Bank

Any unused/unopened toiletries and sanitary products for men, women and children with the exception of perfume/nail varnish/nail varnish remover as these are solvents.

Post items using the label provided (at client’s cost).

Sanitary

Red Box Project: Have to be in closed box with date visible. Sanitary pads in closed packets.

The Trussell Trust, will accept food, household and sanitary items.

Make Up

Boots have a recycle scheme.  Register online. 5 empties =500 points. Take the containers to the store.

For perfumes and makeup in original packaging you can check manufacture/expiry dates here.

Maybelline have recycling stations in most large Tesco supermarkets, taking all brands of makeup.

Gillette razor blades – You can request a recycling bag online.

The Furniture Re-use Network  supports over 200 re-use charities helping them to reach vulnerable people in crisis whilst reducing waste at the same time. Uses a search tool to help you find a charity in your area.

British Heart Foundation offers full or part house clearing service. All furniture accepted.

Free collection within 72 hours

Sue Ryder offers collection of furniture, Flatscreen TVs and Hi-Fi’s, Garden furniture, Small electrical items – please note: no free collection during Covid

Free collection within 72 hours

Community RePaint is a national paint reuse network, sponsored by Dulux, that aims to collect leftover paint and redistribute it to benefit individuals, families, communities and charities in need.

Drop-off points over the UK.

Crown Decorating Centres offer a service for account holders to return pain tins.

Tools with a Mission charity will collect old hand and electrical tools as well as old sewing machines working and non working tools. They refurbish them, sort them into trade kits and send them across the world for livelihood creation.

Men’s Sheds Association charity brings together men that are lonely and isolated through fixing broken items in a community space.

Find a local project to see if they want donations of any tools, or items that could be fixed.