Reduce, Reuse and Recycle around Bookham and nearby

Latest update: 12th Sept 2023

This information is being provided to you by Plastic Free Bookham who may be contacted on pfcbookham@gmail.com or via the form below should you have any queries.

The simplest thing you can do to ‘reduce’ is to take a refillable coffee cup and water bottle around with you and remember to take reusable bags and refillable containers with you when you go to the shops.

A major recent development is that many branches of supermarkets like the Co-op (including Bookham!), Sainsburys and Tesco now offer soft plastic recycling and this is a welcome option to avoid some of the sorting needed for the Terracycle collections – a few Bookham Terracycle collections are still listed. You can also try the Surrey Recycles search tool.

To find out what to do with any item, try the search tool below. Start typing in the ‘Search’ box. The tool immediately shows you all the entries with the search phrase in them. You can click in the right-hand column to see more details of what your options are. To get to the search results, just scroll back up.


Type of Product	What is accepted - click on link for more details	Where to take - click on the code or link for drop off details
Aerosols		Black wheelie bin
Aerosols	Check with staff member where to put them	Community Recycling Centre
Air freshener products	Air freshener fragrance candles & reeds, glass cartridges	Black wheelie bin
Air freshener products	Plug-in air fresheners	MVDC Small Electricals doorstep recycling
Air freshener products	All brands: Air freshener fragrance twin pack plastic sleeves	A, C, D, DWA, F, LT, LWA
Air freshener products	All brands: Air freshener plastic containers and cartridge caps and plastic car air fresheners	C, D, LT,
Aluminium foil and trays	Note: Must be clean and dry. Foil may be scrunched into a ball	Green Wheelie Bin
Asbestos or asbestos-based materials	Not accepted with normal waste	Take to Epsom, Guildford or Shepperton recycling centres (not Leatherhead)
Baby and toddler furniture	e.g. playpens, car seats, high chairs, swings, bouncy seats, etc.	Try charity shops or Freebay first. Otherwise Revive shop at Community Recycling Centre may be interested.
Batteries	Note: Place in a separate bag next to the small electricals bag alongside your wheelie bin.	MVDC Small Electricals doorstep recycling
Batteries		Community Recycling Centre
Batteries and inkjet printer cartridges		Collection bins at many retailers of these products
Batteries, bike inner tubes, sports clothing, tennis balls		Decathlon sports store in Guildford
Batteries, energy saving light bulbs, inkjet printer cartridges, water filters		TB, TL
Batteries, fluorescent tubes, light bulbs, small electricals		B&Q Leatherhead in the entrance lobby on the left as you go in
Batteries, light bulbs		Branches of Robert Dyas e.g. Cobham, Dorking, Epsom, Guildford
Battery and electric toothbrushes	Batteries and battery operated toothbrushes/ toothbrush handles	MVDC Small Electricals doorstep recycling
Battery and electric toothbrushes	All brands: Toothbrush heads and their covers	A, C, D, DWA, F, LT, LWA
Battery and electric toothbrushes	All brands: Toothbrush heads and their packaging	C D, LT
Bedding, furniture and white goods, kitchen items	White goods includes electrical appliances such as cookers, washing machines and fridge freezers. Bedding and towels includes sheets, pillows and pillow cases. Kitchen items include cutlery, crockery, saucepans, and cleaning products. Note: Items should be clean and in good condition and beds and sofas require fire tags.	Reuse by Besom in Ashtead
Bicycles	Suitable bikes are recycled and sent to rural areas in Africa. Otherwise they're broken up for spare parts for the same project.	Halfords Byfleet - suggest calling them first
Bicycles, tricycles, scooters, skateboards		Try charity shops or Freebay first. Otherwise Revive shop at Community Recycling Centre may be interested.
Binoculars, bottle corks, foreign and UK notes and coins, medicine packaging - blister packs, plastic milk bottle tops, postcards, spectacles and glasses, used postage stamps, used inkjet cartridges	Recycled for charity	Collection box inside south door of St Nicolas Church, Bookham. Go into the church via the west side door and turn right towards Lower Road.
Black bag waste		Community Recycling Centre
Body creams, ointments or moisturisers	All brands: Flexible plastic tubes	A, D, DWA, F, LT, LWA
Books, CDs and DVDs	Note: Place in small carrier bag.	Try charity shops or Freebay. Paperback books can go in your green wheelie bin
Books, CDs and DVDs		Community Recycling Centre
Bottle corks (natural cork only)	Used by the Eden Project for enriching soils and protecting roots.	Take to Majestic Wines and drop into recycling bins near checkout or hand to the delivery drive
Bottle corks (natural cork only)	In connection with Recorked	Take to Denbies visitor reception
Bottle tops, mobile phones, spectacles	Sent to charities	Community Recycling Centre
Bread Warburtons	Warburtons only: waxed bread wrappers	A, D, DWA, F, LT, LWA
Candles	Note: no need to empty your scraps of debris like matches or tea light tins	Can be posted to The Recycled Candle Company
Cans, car batteries, cooking oil, engine oil, gas bottles, large electricals (e.g. fridge/freezers), mattresses, tetrapak cartons, TVs and monitors	All these can be recycled	Community Recycling Centre
Caps, flexible plastic lotion tubes, handwash refill pouches, hand and mist pumps.	Baylis & Harding only: not cardboard carton for refill pouches. Baylis and Harding	D, LT
Cement-based products including formed items, concrete and formed concrete items, blocks, slabs, posts etc, Ceramics; piping, tiles etc, Flooring - cement, stone, marble, slate, tile based etc, Granite, marble and slates	Small amounts free, larger amounts chargeable Full list of waste we charge for at community recycling centres	By car only to Community Recycling Centre - vans need a permit
China, clothing and accessories, crockery, cutlery sets, drinking glasses, shoes.	Reuse items in reasonable condition	Try charity shops or Freebay/Freecycle.
Chocolate and sweets	Hard plastic tubs	Black wheelie bin
Chocolate and sweets	QUALITY STREET® wrappers	Home composting
Chocolate Ferrero	Ferrero Rocher and Ferrero Collection only - aluminium foil wrappings for individual chocolates and bars, gold plastic tray, transparent plastic box and outer plastic wrappers, ice cream stick plastic wrappers	A, D, DWA, F, LT, LWA
Chocolate Kinder	Kinder and Nutella only: aluminium foil packaging, chocolate wrappers, flexible and rigid plastic packaging, Nutella biscuits flexible plastic pouches	A, D, DWA, F, LT, LWA
Clay flowerpots, clay garden ornaments, crockery, plastic planters and garden furniture	Maybe suitable for Revive Re-use Shop at Leatherhead CRC otherwise ask for guidance where to recycle in main recycling area	Community Recycling Centre
Coat hangers, metal or wood		Community Recycling Centre
Coat hangers, plastic	Not recyclable	Take back to shop or place in black wheelie bin
Coffee capsules (Eco) Lavazza, Nespresso	Lavazza Eco coffee capsules only - compatible with Lavazza A Modo Mio coffee machines and Nespresso® coffee machines (other than Vertuo)	D,LT
Coffee cups	Note: biodegradable and compostable cups are not currently recyclable locally	Take back to provider or place in black wheelie bin (Note: no longer taken at Lower Shott 'Tetrapak' bank)
Coffee cups	All brands	Costa coffee outlets
Coffee pods: Nespresso, Dolce Gusto, Tassimo, Starbucks, L'Or, Cru Cafe	Aluminium and plastic pods - NOT compostable ones.	Follow instructions to obtain bag and drop off at Collect + locations e.g. Bookham, Effingham, Fetcham and Leatherhead
Coffee Percol	Bags of beans and ground coffee, also coffee sachets.	Check individual products on Percol website. Can be home composted.
Compost and soil bags, empty	Recycle	SQ (Horsley)
Compost and soil bags, empty	Reuse for storage in your shed, greenhouse or garden or to take recyclable waste to the Community Recycling Centre.
Contact Lenses	All brands: soft, disposable contact lenses, contact lens blister packs and foil	DB, LB
Cooking oil	Note: Do not pour oily liquids down your sink or drains or into your food waste caddy.	Put in a sealed container and take to Community Recycling Centre - ask a member of staff where to put it.
Doors (internal and external), Garden wooden fencing posts and panels, garden structures, trellis, pergolas and sheds, Fitted kitchen cupboards and wooden or chipboard work surfaces, Fitted units (for example wardrobes), Insulation (not asbestos)	Not chargeable if brought by car (chargeable if brought by van). Ask staff for guidance where to put items.	By car only to Community Recycling Centre - vans need a permit
Down jackets, duvets and sleeping bags	Only items which contain 100% natural down and not down/feather mixtures	Send off to Alpkit using Freepost
Electricals, not working	Consider whether a simple repair might be possible by a Repair Café such as the ones in Dorking, Epsom, Guildford and Reigate	Find your local Repair Café
Electricals, small and large	WEEE legislation requires suppliers of new items to recycle your old ones. Most however only take back something when you buy something new from them; Currys is an exception to the rule and will take everything regardless.	Currys electricals and tech recycling
Eye and brow makeup, face makeup, lip products	All brands: Compacts, eyeliner pens (but not wooden eye pencils), eyeshadow compacts, lipsticks, lip glosses, lip balms, mascara wands, pots, tubes. - Note: please remove any residual contents	TB
Eye make up	All brands: Eye shadow compacts, mascara tubes and wands - Note: please remove any residual contents	A, D, DWA, F, LT, LWA
Floss container	All brands: Dental floss containers (empty) and outer packaging	A, C, D, DWA, F, LT,LWA
Floss container	All brands: Dental floss containers (empty)	D, LT
Flossing and interdental	All brands: Flossing sticks, interdental brushes	A, C, D, DWA, F,LT, LWA
Fluorescent tubes or energy saving light bulbs (compact fluorescent tubes/lamps)		Community Recycling Centre
Food cartons (soup, tomato, custard etc), juice & milk cartons, Pringles and other paper/cardboard tubes with metal ends (e.g. dough, cocoa)	Note: Where appropriate, rinse items before recycling and leave to drain before recycling. Flatten cartons and replace screw lid as appropriate.	MVDC Bring Sites (such as in Lower Shott car park, Bookham) and Community Recycling Centres
Food waste	All food, meat, egg shells, teabags. fruit and vegetable peelings, bones, coffee grounds, any fresh food past its use by date.	Food waste household collection. Note: You can line your caddy with a carrier bag, vegetable bags or pedal bin liners but not* black bin bags.*
Food waste	Fruit and vegetable peelings, seeds or cores, fruit and vegetables past their best, coffee grounds, tea leaves, salad leaves, broken egg shells and torn up cardboard egg boxes	Place in home compost bin
Furniture	If in good condition, may be suitable for Revive Re-use Shop at Leatherhead CRC. Otherwise in appropriate metals, plastics or wood skip, or ask staff for guidance	By car only to Community Recycling Centre - vans need a permit
Furniture, home furnishings and electrical goods including white goods	Need to be in clean and working condition with no tears or stains or other damage. Note: Upholstered furniture needs a fire safety label attached and electrical goods a CE mark.	Reuse by Furnistore for local people in need. Free collection.
Garden waste	Grass cuttings, prunings, fallen leaves, cut flowers, branches (under 7cm / 3 inches thick), hedge trimmings, leaves or small twigs, dead plants, weeds, other organic plant material (e.g. fallen fruit)	Community Recycling Centre
Garden waste	Grass cuttings, prunings, fallen leaves, cut flowers, branches (under 7cm / 3 inches thick), hedge trimmings, leaves or small twigs, dead plants, weeds, other organic plant material (e.g. fallen fruit)	Brown wheelie bin (subscription service)
Glass bottles and jars	Note: Rinse items before recycling and leave to drain before putting in the bin. Lids may be left on bottles and jars	Green Wheelie Bin
Gloves - disposable	All brands: domestic disposable gloves - made from polyethylene, latex, nitrile, vinyl. NOT any which have been used with harsh chemicals, unhygienic substances or as medical PPE	A, D, DWA, F, LT, LWA
Gloves - disposable and durable	Gloves that have been in contact which have been used with harsh chemicals, unhygienic substances or as medical PPE or unhygienic substances or used for business or professional purposes	Black wheelie bin
Gloves - disposable and durable	Marigold only - durable and disposable domestic gloves and their packaging. NOT any which have been used with harsh chemicals, unhygienic substances or as medical PPE	D, LT
Gravel, hardcore, rocks, sand, soil, stones, tarmac, plasterboard, sanitary ware - bathroom suites & kitchenware and (e.g. porcelain) - baths, cisterns, sinks, toilet pans, bidets (whole or broken up), Turf (whole), Tyres	Small amounts free, larger amounts chargeable. Ask staff for guidance where to put items. with link Full list of waste charges community recycling centres. Grass cuttings (as opposed to turf) goes in with Garden Waste at CRC.	By car only to Community Recycling Centre - vans need a permit
Inkjet printer cartridges	Money raised for charity	Community Recycling Centre
Inkjet printer cartridges	Money raised for charity	Through Recycle4Charity and The Recycling Factory
Large electricals	Dishwashers, fridges, freezers, washing machines & dryers	Community Recycling Centre
Larger amounts of cardboard, glass bottles and jars, metal, paper, which don't fit in the green wheelie bin	Note: items to be clean (no grease stains, dirt, food, paint) and dry with plastic tape removed. Flatten boxes first. Rinse tins, can, bottles, jars before recycling and leave to drain before recycling. Lids may be left on bottles and jars	Community Recycling Centre
Light bulbs (old style, halogen, LED)		Black wheelie bin
Lip products	All brands: Lip balm, lipsticks, lip glosses, lip & cheek highlighter and bronzer sticks. Note: please remove any residual contents	A, D, DWA, F, LT, LWA
Medicine packaging - blister packs	All brands: Empty medicine blister packs	Take to Superdrug pharmacies in Guildford or Worcester Park
Medicine packaging - empty bottles	Note: Rinse out first	Green Wheelie Bin
Medicine packaging - inhalers		Return to pharmacy for safe disposal
Medicines - unused, part-used or out-of-date	Any form of unused, unopened and out-of-date medicine, including Includes tablets, pills, lozenges, and caplets, liquids, lotions, creams and ointments	Return to pharmacy for safe disposal
Metal food tins and drinks cans	Note: Rinse items before recycling and leave to drain before putting in the bin.	Green Wheelie Bin
Mobile phones	Note: Ideally you should do a 'factory reset' on your phone before recycling	Retailers of new phones should take them back and may even offer a trade-in for newer models.
Mobile phones	Note: Ideally you should do a 'factory reset' on your phone before recycling	D, LT
Oral Care - general	Breath sprays, Dental floss (string), Denture product packaging, Toothache kits	Black wheelie bin
Paint (water-based & emulsion only)		Community Recycling Centre who will take it to the Paint Shop at the Guildford CRC
Paper and cardboard	Note: items to be clean (no grease stains, dirt, food, paint) and dry with plastic tape removed. Flatten boxes first.	Green Wheelie Bin
Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays	Items made of PET & HDPE (triangle symbols 1 & 2). Note: Rinse items before recycling and leave to drain before putting in the bin. Lids may be left on bottles	Green Wheelie Bin
Plastic plant pots and trays	Reuse where possible or offer to other gardeners or on local social media
Plastic plant pots and trays	If all else fails...	Black wheelie bin
Plastic plant pots and trays	Take to garden centres	BQ, SQ, W
Plastic sheeting (rigid), radiators, roofing felt, flooring - wooden, laminated, vinyl and so on (boards/joists/decking), sanitary ware - bathroom suites and kitchenware - metal (enamelled) only,	Small amounts free, larger amounts chargeable. Ask staff for guidance where to put items.	By car only to Community Recycling Centre - vans need a permit
Polystyrene, black bin bags, nappies, tissues and wipes, pizza boxes, hard plastics	Cannot be recycled	Black wheelie bin
Razors and razor blades	All brands - may be sent by post for recycling. Note: this does not include individual blades.	For Freepost envelope visit Gillette
Shoes (paired), bags and belts	Note: Items must be clean, dry and in no more than one tied carrier bag placed next to your wheelie bin	MVDC textiles household collection
Shoes (paired), bags and belts, textiles in excess of one bag weekly	Textiles includes - Clothing, underwear, towels, sheets and curtains	Take to a MVDC Bring Site (such as in Lower Shott car park, Bookham) or Community Recycling Centre
Small Electricals	Anything with a plug. Note: No more than one tied carrier bag placed next to your wheelie bin	MVDC small electricals household collection
Small Electricals (in excess of one carrier bag full)	Anything with a plug or which is battery operated - remove batteries for separate recycling	Take to a Bring Site (such as in Lower Shott car park, Bookham) or Community Recycling Centre
Small electricals including toys	Anything which is battery operated. Note: No more than one tied carrier bag placed next to your wheelie bin. Take out removable batteries first and put them in a separate bag next to the small electricals.	MVDC small electricals household collection
Soft plastics - Polyethylene, LDPE and Polypropylene plastic film and other items	All carrier bags, Baby food pouches, Bags and wrappings used for fruits, vegetables, salads and flowers, Biscuit and cake wrappers, Bottle and can multipack wrapping, Bread bags, Bubble wrap, Cereal bags, Cheese wrappers, Clothing bags, Crisp packets, Film lids from meat, fish, poultry, fruit, vegetable trays, Frozen food bags, Household item wrapping, Magazine and newspaper wrappers, Microwaveable pouches, Pet food pouches, Plastic or foil coffee packaging, Rice and dry food wrappers, Toilet roll & kitchen roll wrapping. Note: items to be clean and dry.	BC, SC, SD, SL, TBo, TBr, TL
Spectacles and glasses	Recycled for charity	Rawlings Opticians, 9 Church Road, Bookham
Textiles	Single shoes, stuffed items like pillows and duvets, cuddly toys.	Black wheelie bin
Textiles	Single shoes, stuffed items like pillows and duvets, cuddly toys.	Community Recycling Centre
Textiles	Clothing, underwear, towels, sheets and curtains. Note: Items must be clean, dry and in no more than one tied carrier bag placed next to your wheelie bin	MVDC textiles household collection
Textiles, needing a simple repair or new zip etc	Consider whether a simple repair might be possible by a Repair Café such as the ones in Dorking, Epsom, Guildford and Reigate	Find your local Repair Café
Toothbrushes - manual	All brands: Plastic toothbrushes (not bamboo or wood) and outer packaging	C, D, LT
Toothpaste	All brands: Toothpaste tubes (Note: squeeze out any remaining contents) and caps, toothpaste cartons	C, D, LT
Toothpaste pumps		Black wheelie bin
Toys and games	Assorted, not covered by brands below	Try charity shops or Freebay first. Otherwise Revive shop at Community Recycling Centre may be interested.
Toys Mattel	Barbie®, Fisher Price™, Matchbox™ and MEGA™ toys can be posted back to Mattel with a free prepaid shipping label	Mattel Playback
Trigger sprays from car or garden products		Black wheelie bin
Tumble drier sheets	Lenor only - no packaging	C, D, LT
Water filters		Community Recycling Centre
Water filters Brita		Branches of Argos, Robert Dyas, Sainsburys
Wipes	Flash® only - hand and floor wipes, Powermop Absorbing Pads, Speedmop Wet Cloths (no packaging)	D, LT
Writing Instruments	All brands - Chalks, erasers, glue sticks, rubbers, rulers, scissors or other cutting objects, wooden pencils	Offer to a local nursery, playgroup or school or put in black wheelie bin
Writing Instruments	All brands - Correction fluid pots, correction tape, felt tips, fountain pens, ink cartridges, highlighters, whiteboard and permanent markers, mechanical (but not wooden) pencils, ballpoint and gel pens, regardless of their composition.	BL (D, LT)

Drop off points

Where	Find Out More. if in doubt as to location of collection point in a store, please ask a member of staff	Name of contact and who they are collecting for
A, DWA, F, LWA - Ashtead Dorking Fetcham Leatherhead	Via Facebook - Terracycle Recycling for West Ashtead School or PM Amanda	Amanda Tanner for Friends of West Ashtead School
BC - Bookham Co-op	Collection bin near rear of shop by door to storeroom
BL - Bookham	May be put through letter box when closed. Bookham Library, Townshott Close, KT23 4DQ. More details from pfcbookham@gmail.com	Emily von Reibnitz
C- Cobham	The box is located in Sainsburys Superstore just as you exit the store on the left-hand side immediately next to the food bank collection box	Ann Johnson for Cobham Area Girlguiding projects
DB, LB - Dorking Leatherhead	Boots Opticians - Dorking, Leatherhead	n/a
D, LT - Dorking, Leatherhead	Via Facebook - Tadworth & Local Area Recycling Page (@TadworthTerracycle) or email tadworthterracycle@gmail.com	Catherine Banks for: 1) Alzheimers Society, 2) Curly's Legacy, 3) Canine Partners, (Confectionery scheme), 4) RSPCA (Pet Food scheme).
BQ (Leatherhead), SQ (Horsley), W (Wisley)	B&Q in Leatherhead - leave them with checkout staff. Squires in Horsley - container for recycling pots and trays in their car park (Cobham apparently don’t). Recycling point in the car park near the RHS Wisley garden centre too.	n/a
SC, SD, SL - Cobham, Dorking, Leatherhead	Effectively replacing the carrier bag recycling at Sainsburys. In entrance lobby at Cobham, between tills and front window in Leatherhead.	n/a
TBo, TBr, TL	Near tills in Tesco Bookham, Tesco Brooklands after the tills at the far end away from the entrance, Tesco Leatherhead on the right of the entrance	n/a
SQ (Horsley)	Squires in Horsley - container for recycling pots and trays in their car park (Cobham apparently don’t).

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle around Bookham and nearby

Drop off points

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