Where Can I Recycle This?

This is a quick guide on recycling harder-to-recycle items in the Southfields and Wimbledon Park Grid area.

Before you try to recycle an item – see if it works / in good condition. If it is - try to give it away on the Olio app. Olio also accepts opened items – such as opened shampoos or creams. If it's faulty - see if you can fix it at the regular Southfields Mend, Fix and Repair Cafe, which takes place at St Barnabas Church around 4 times a year.

Then check what your local waste and recycling centres accept: Wandsworth - Western Riverside Waste Authority - (aka Smugglers Way tip - SW18 1JS), Merton - Garth Road Household Reuse and Recycling Centre (SM4 4AX)

Kerbside recycling: check what is accepted at kerbside Wandsworth Council Website and Merton Council Website.

See a separate list of what we collect weekly at Recycle More Southfields. We specialise in hard-to-recycle items and have a weekly schedule of the items we collect at two collection points on Sutherland Grove and on Trentham St.

Below is a list of other places you can recycle your harder-to-recycle items.

Popular Items: Where can I recycle these?

Batteries – pretty much everywhere including Boots Southfields (SW18 5LT), Co-op Wimbledon Park (SW19 8AE), Sainsbury’s Durnsford Rd (SW19 8DZ), Sainsbury’s Wandsworth (SW18 4AD), Sainsbury’s Wimbledon (SW19 4DD).

Beauty packaging – all bottles – can go to Merton and Wandsworth kerbside recycling. Tubes and jars – Recycle More Southfields (Week 3 collection), Boots Wimbledon Quarter (SW19 8YE), Boots Putney High Street (SW15 1SS).   

Bedding – Including pillows and duvets. Dunelm Store (SW19 2PP)

Coffee cups (single use) – Southside Centre special coffee cups bins – all brands. Including lids (SW18 4TF), Wylie’s Coffee – only their own cups (SW18 5LR).

Contact lenses – Recycle More Southfields (Week 1 collection), Specsavers Southside (SW18 4TQ).

Dental – toothpaste tubes can be recycled at Boots Wimbledon Quarter (SW19 8YE), Boots Putney High Street (SW15 1SS).  Everything else (including toothpaste tubes, manual plastic toothbrushes and plastic toothbrush heads, interdental, floss packaging) is accepted by recycle More Southfields (Week 1 collection).   

Fridges and freezers– and other white goods – If they work – donate them to charity. If faulty: Wandsworth residents can book two free bulky items collections a year, which include all white goods (apart from American fridge-freezers and side-by-side fridges). Merton residents can book a paid for bulky items collection, including white goods. It is important to dispose fridges and freezers properly – because they release harmful ozone-depleting refrigerants and toxic chemicals into the atmosphere when thrown away.

Glasses (spectacles) - Specsavers Southside (SW18 4TQ), Garth Road Household Reuse and Recycling Centre – Merton (SM4 4AX), Western Riverside Waste Authority - Wandsworth (Smugglers Way tip - SW18 1JS), Wheeler and Kirk Opticians (SW18 5LT)

Hard plastics – such as garden tables and chairs, washing up bowls, plastic toys with no electrical components, etc - Western Riverside Waste Authority – Wandsworth (Smugglers Way tip - SW18 1JS).

Hazardous waste– such as paints, solvents (white spirit, petrol, diesel, antifreeze), acids, pesticides, alkalis (i.e. Bleach, Hydroxide Solutions, Ammonia), old rat poison – see the full list here. Hazardous waste is collected free of charge from the residents and businesses of both Wandsworth and Merton boroughs by the City of London Hazardous Waste Collection. You will need to have your Council Tax number and fill a simple form to book a free pick up. All information and an online booking form are here.

Inhalers – most pharmacies will accept them.

Light Bulbs - B&Q - New Malden (KT3 4PT), Currys - Colliers Wood (SW19 2PP), Garth Road Household Reuse and Recycling Centre – Merton (SM4 4AX), Western Riverside Waste Authority - Wandsworth (Smugglers Way tip - SW18 1JS).

Make up packaging - Recycle More Southfields (Week 3 collection), Boots Wimbledon Quarter (SW19 8YE), Boots Putney High Street (SW15 1SS).

Medicine blister packs – Recycle More Southfields (Week 1 collection), Boots Southside Centre (SW18 4TG), Boots Putney High Street (SW15 1SS), Superdrug Wimbledon Quarter (SW19 8ND).

Razors – are no longer recycled. Except Bulldog razors. Bulldog razors (only!) can be recycled through Bulldog recycling scheme. https://bulldogskincare.com/pages/first-mile-recycling.

Shoes – The Village Cobbler Southfields (SW18 5LR).

Small electricals – Southfields Library (SW19 6NL) and Earlsfield Library (SW18 3NY) pink boxes, Western Riverside Waste Authority (Smugglers Way tip - SW18 1JS).

Soft plastics – such as crisps and snacks packets, fruit punnet lids, shrink-wrap, bubble wrap, etc -  Co-op Wimbledon Park (SW19 8AE), Sainsbury’s Wandsworth (SW18 4AD), Sainsbury’s Wimbledon (SW19 4DD).

Stationery - Recycle More Southfields (Week 1 collection)

Toothbrushes - Recycle More Southfields (Week 1 collection)

Vaping refills - Sainsbury’s Wandsworth (SW18 4AD)

It is getting harder to recycle some plastic waste: our solutions

(First published in the Southfields grid residents Association newsletter in July 2025). Recycle More Southfields had been established in 2021 to help the local residents recycle hard-to-recycle waste such as plastic toothbrushes and makeup packaging.

We focus on the waste not collected by the council. To start with, a lot of these items were recycled through the free recycling programmes ran by a commercial company TerraCycle UK. Back then, many major manufacturers paid for a certain type of waste to be collected and recycled, so we were able to offer a wide range of recycling options.

Together we saved over 1,300kg of plastic waste from being sent for incineration.

However, each year TerraCycle and the companies that sponsor plastic collections are closing more and more free programmes. Some are closing for a good reason: crisps packets, for example, can now be recycled along all the soft plastics in all major supermarkets. (Our local are Coop on Wimbledon park Rd and the large Sainsbury’s in Wandsworth).

Other free recycling options once closed are impossible to replace. This year TerraCycle stopped collecting razors with almost no alternative recycling option available. Ryman pens and writing materials recycling (another free TerraCycle programme) was also closed.

Following all these closures, we had to make changes to our own recycling schedule. We had to drop some items we collected, but we made a decision to pay for some of the more popular strands, such as stationery and dental. Recycle More Southfields has a limited amount of funding available for purchasing commercial recycling solutions, but we will do it, while we can. To help residents cut their plastic waste.

But having been recycling for years, we understand that recycling alone is not a solution for the amount of plastic waste we produce. A national and international action is required to cut the amount of plastic that ends up in our rivers and oceans, in our soil and, as it turns out, our bodies too. Microplastics have been found in all human tissues, though the scientists don’t yet fully understand how much of it is there and how harmful it is. But individual actions matter too – all big changes start from small actions.

Do we still collect hard-to-recycle waste for recycling?

Yes! We collect contact lenses, beauty and make up packaging, medicine blister packs, kitchen gloves, Ferrero Rocher boxes, stationery, toothbrushes and much more. We have a weekly collection schedule and two collection points on Trentham Street and Sutherland Grove. See the items we collect for details. (Download our detailed list of what we collect and ideas for plastic free alternatives).

RMS List of Accepted Items - June 2025 SW.pdf

Download PDF • 359KB

Here are some ways to avoid plastic waste altogether

Kitchen:

Avoid microplastics by opting for plastic free washing up sponges such as those made from cellulose (wood pulp), loofah, sisal, or coconut coir. Our favourite brands are: Seep, Safix and Eco Living. They can be composted at home. These are mostly available online and in zero waste shops.

Try reusable kitchen towels such as EcoEgg or re:gn.

Or choose kitchen towels made from recycled paper: Naked Paper and Who Gives a Crap, some supermarkets have their own brand recycled kitchen towels too. They all come in plastic free packaging and by using recycled paper – virgin cellulose, made from trees is not wasted on something that is disposed of straight away.

Use plastic free kitchen cleaners: Ocean Saver, Home Things or Neat. All of them are dissolved or diluted in water, just use the old spray or washing up liquid bottles. You can also make many household cleaners yourself: we are inspired by Nancy Birtwhistle’s eco-friendly DIY solutions. Follow her on Instagram or buy her books – they are full of good nature and pocket-friendly ideas!

What to do with the old razors?

Cut your impact by choosing a plastic free shaving handle with a replaceable razor. Estrid and Bulldog are the leading “modern” razors, their handles are made from bamboo or metal. But Bulldog only accepts their own razor heads for recycling.

Gilette used to sponsor a razor recycling programme, but it has been closed. Their website says it was due to the “low levels of demand”.

But the best way to avoid razor waste is to use an old-fashioned safety razor, which will last you for decades and the only thing you need to change is the blade itself. There are many brands on the market: from the mainstream Wilkinson to more indie Shoreline Shaving and re:gn (both British brands).

Follow us on Instagram: @recyclemore_southfields and on Facebook: @RecycleMoreSouthfields. If you too are involved in reducing waste – upcycling furniture, using plastic free alternatives and refills or similar initiatives - please tag us in and we will share!

Join one of two WhatsApp groups (there’s a chatty one and a ‘lite’ one) or email us on:

recyclemoresouthfields@gmail.com

Recycle More Southfields: your recycling questions​ answered

First published in the SGRA Newsletter in spring 2025.

Q: Can I recycle trigger spray bottle mechanisms and pumps?

A: Yes, as long as they are attached to the plastic bottles. But it is best to reuse them, by refilling the bottles.

There are many brands available that offer household cleaner refills. Our favourites are:

NeatClean has concentrated refill bottles of both bathroom and kitchen cleaners. Packaged in small plastic bottles. These can be bought in the supermarkets (Sainsbury’s and Waitrose stock them) as well as online. Cif also does refills, but they only work with the Cif original bottles.

Ocean Saver and Homethings have a variety of refill products: from concentrates to dilutable tablets for most cleaning needs. These are 100% plastic free. Online and refill shops only. There are many, many more!

You can also refill your home cleaning and personal hygiene bottles At St Michael’s Church Café (71 Wimbledon park Rd, SW18 5TT), which has a refill station.

Q: Can I recycle my plastic toothbrushes and/or electric toothbrush heads?

A: Yes, you can with us.

We are accepting both of these in our hard-to-recycle waste collections, but we have to pay for these through the TerreCycle bags scheme. They are no longer part of any free recycling programmes,

Try these instead:

Buy bamboo manual toothbrushes and interdental products instead: TruthBrush, The Humble Co, Georganics make a great selection of bamboo/no plastic products (mainly sold online).

More mainstream brands such as Colgate and Wisdom make them too – those are often available in Boots and bigger supermarkets.

For the electric toothbrush heads our members recommend using Brushd or Booheads – those can be recycled with the manufacturers.

Q: Can I recycle soft plastics – such as crisps and snacks, bubble wrap, petfood pouches, yoghurt and soft fruit lids, etc?

A: Yes! Pretty much all (clean and dry!!!) soft plastics are accepted in most supermarkets.

Locally to the Grid you can recycle them at M&S Southfields and Coop in Wimbledon Park, as well as the large Sainsbury’s in Southside.

Have a recycling question?

Follow us on Instagram @recyclemore_southfields and on Facebook @RecycleMore Southfields and get in touch on: recyclemoresouthfields@gmail.com.