Kirsty Warren
Recycle this…

Recycling in Hassocks

Toothpaste tubes

My advice on toothpaste tubes was to take them to Boots as this was the only way they could be recycled.  

Not any more! (November 2024!) WSCC has just announced that you can now put toothpaste tubes with the caps on into your kerbside recycling bin.

We have modified our recycling plant so that we can accept them as part of your regular recycling routine.

Do not be surprised if other Councils tell you they cannot be recycled at home.  We can in West Sussex.

Hard toothpaste tubes with pumps on top should be placed in the general waste bin, as they are made from a different type of plastic and cannot currently be processed.

Food waste

Food waste collections

In West Sussex, food waste makes up a staggering 40% of the average household general black top waste bin. So, it makes sense to collect this waste separately as it is then easier to recycle.

The Government announced on 25th March 2024 that funding is available to local councils to fund the collection of food waste.
The good news is that Mid Sussex District Council will receive a grant of £1,041,808 following a successful application for funds. Councils in England will be supported with up to £295 million in funding to introduce weekly food waste collections by 31st March 2026, providing new food waste containers for homes and specialist collection vehicles.

Collections of food waste from every household will prevent contamination of other waste which could then be usefully recycled

Composting

Of course, you can compost lots of your food waste at home. You can use a plastic compost bin bought from WSCC. Here – www.bit.ly/4abK98s – you will also find lots of useful information on composting. You also can buy one from garden centres, or make one from timber.

Success with a compost heap does require a little simple planning. A good procedure is to keep food scraps consisting of vegetables, tea bags, and fruit and transfer them every couple of days to your garden compost bin. You then add grass cuttings in roughly equal portions and that is it.

By not adding meat or fish it does not attract rats.

This simple mixture breaks down quickly and so twice a year, you can empty the compost bin to use the contents as compost for the garden.

So, whilst we are awaiting the start of food waste collection by MSDC, you could try a compost heap for your own compost. If it works out well for you, then you can use the MSDC collection for meat and fish and any excess food waste, when the collection commences.

Candle wax

To recycle your used candles a little effort is required.

First, you need to separate the waste wax from its container. You can scrape it out, but I have found the best way is to simply pop them into a plastic bag and pop them into your freezer. The next day the wax is very easy to separate from its container.
Now you have wax and a container. You could have a go at making your own candles. Look online and you can buy 50 new wicks for under a tenner, and then blend together all your favourite candles to make a new ones in your favourite containers.

Another alternative is to dispose of them yourself. Separate the wax and container, and the tea light containers are aluminium and can go into your blue top kerbside recycling bin, provided they are clean of all wax.


Waste wax must go into your blacktop rubbish bin. If the container is glass or plastic, it is more problematic, as it may have a higher melting temperature so it does not set alight with the candle, and so is not able to be kerbside recycled. Blacktop bin again.

Cosmetic tubes

‘Can the plastic tubes listed here be recycled in my blue top recycling bin? Toothpaste, tubes of shampoo, face wash, foot cream, etc.’

No, plastic tubes cannot be recycled in your blue top kerbside bin. However, all plastic tubes you list can be recycled at Boots stores. In Haywards Heath, for example, there is a green cardboard recycling bin on the right by the front door. You can also enrol into their recycling scheme and when you recycle five items you receive £5 onto your Boots Advantage card off your next spend over £10. Who doesn’t like a bargain? Here are details of the Boots Scheme www.bit.ly/3MOVmlW

It is not necessary to enrol to recycle at Boots, you can simply drop off your recycling when you are passing. They created the Recycle at Boots scheme so you can bring your empty beauty, health, wellness and dental products, from any brand, that can’t be recycled at home.

John Lewis also has a similar scheme. Take back empty beauty products to the store and if you’re a My John Lewis member, you’ll get £5 off when you spend £20 or more on beauty that day. Just bring in five or more clean, empty beauty product containers to any of our beauty counters.

They do not take glass containers or aerosols. What we have are alternative schemes that are being set up by industry to work with, and not in competition with, local councils. Boots or John Lewis do not want plastic bottles, tubs or trays for example. Hope you find this useful.

Toys

When it comes to toys that your children are no longer interested in, or have grown out of, consider donating good condition toys to a local preschool, parent-toddler group or charity shop.

Any broken or damaged toys can be taken to your local Repair Café (Hassocks Repair Café can be found here) to find out if they can be repaired.

Finally, you can recycle them at our Recycling Centres, but please remove batteries if they have them, and put these in the battery recycling area, to reduce the possibility of fires.