Recycling bank sites

All about the banks

Paper

Our banks accept newspapers, magazines, junk mail, office paper, catalogues, envelopes, telephone directories and yellow pages. They cannot accept cardboard.

All our paper is recycled at paper mills in Western Europe and in the UK where possible. This avaids transporting it long distances for reprocessing. 

Glass

Spelthorne collects three colours of glass (green, brown and clear) in separate banks. The collected glass is crushed into cullet before it is taken to a glass manufacturer to make new bottles and jars.

Glass can be recycled over and over again without any loss of quality which means we can save natural resources by putting all glass bottles into the banks. 

Cans

Our banks will take aluminium and steel cans but cannot take aerosols.

They should be washed and squashed before you put them into the bank so that they do not take up so much space.

Once collected they are baled and sent for reprocessing. Organisations or schools can get money by saving aluminium cans, which are valuable. For more information please contact Alcan - Aluminium Can Recycling at www.cashforcans.co.uk 

Shoes

We take any paired shoes in reasonable condition.

The European Recycling Company Ltd collects from Spelthorne's shoe banks. Around 90% of the shoes are shipped to developing countries. On arrival they are cleaned prior to redistribution. This gives valued employment to local people.

The remaining 10% are processed to extract raw material, which is mostly different types of plastic. 

Textiles

The banks accept all clothing, paired shoes, curtains and bed linen. They should be in a clean condition and put into the banks in small carrier bags. Do not try to put full dustbin bags into the chute, as it will jam.

The banks are provided on behalf of two charities: SCOPE, who support people with cerebral palsy, and TRAID who are a charity committed to protecting the environment and reducing world poverty. Good quality clothing will be sent to developing countries. Any worn textiles are sold for reprocessing into cleaning cloths or insulation material and the payments used to fund the charities' other activities.

Cartons

Spelthorne Borough Council is working with Tetra Pak and the carton industry body ACE UK (Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment) to establish carton collection points at key recycling points - to collect paper-based cartons only - for residents to take their empty cartons to be recycled.

When collected, the cartons are taken away to be baled and transported to a recycling mill. where they are recycled into a number of different products, ranging from plasterboard liner to high-strength paper bags and envelopes.

For more information visit www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk 

Books and music

The banks accept good quality books, records, DVD's, CD's and videos. The banks are provided on the behalf of the British Heart Foundation, a charity committed to playing a leading role in the fight against disease of the heart and circulation, so that it is no longer a major cause of disability and premature death (www.bhf.org.uk/).

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