What can be recycled

Full information on your kerbside collection is available highlighting which materials can be recycled in your kerbside bins.

Commonly enquired about household items

You can find below a list of frequently enquired about household items and where they can be taken for reuse or recycling.

Batteries (household and car) and battery-operated, single-use disposable vapes

Household and car batteries can be recycled at your local Recycling centres and points. You can also recycle household batteries at most libraries, and many supermarkets and retailers, please check with them before you go.

When electricals with batteries are thrown into skips, if crushed or too hot they can cause fires. We need to ensure these batteries are removed before electricals are disposed of.

You can now find signposted containers for batteries beside the Small Electricals skip at your local Recycling Centre, please remember to remove all batteries that can be removed by hand

Battery-operated, single-use disposable vapes can only be recycled at PKC Recycling Centres, dropped off at the household batteries collection point at the Recycling Centre.  

Books

Books can be reused by donating them to a local charity, or enquire with your local library if they are able to accept them. Householders on the kerbside recycling service can put books in their blue-lidded bin for recycling.

Catalogues and telephone directories

Catalogues and telephone directories can be recycled in a Paper Point at any Recycling centres and points. Householders on the kerbside recycling service can also put these in their blue-lidded bin for recycling. If you no longer wish to receive hard-copy directories or catalogues, check with the supplier to see if it is possible to opt out of this service.

Clothing and textiles

Clean items including, clothing, shoes, handbags, and accessories, and also linen including, bedding, curtains, and towels can be donated for reuse to a local charity. Alternatively, clothing and textiles can be recycled in Textile Points at any Recycling centres and points. Please do not put duvets and pillows into textile banks.  For more information, visit the Textiles and Shoes Reuse and Recycling Webpage. 

Coat Hangers

Consider refusing unwanted coat hangers when purchasing new clothing items, or returning them to the retailer. Ask to return unwanted metal coat hangers to your local dry cleaners. Alternatively, unwanted all metal coat hangers can be recycled in your blue-lidded bin.

Cooking Oil and Engine Oil

Cooking oil and engine oil can be taken to all Recycling centres and points for recycling. These are taken away and the cooking oil is reprocessed for industrial uses (such as for the creation of new paints or bio-fuel) and the engine oil is recycled into new fuel. Scottish Water advises that cooking fats should not be disposed of via the sewer network as it causes blockages.  To recycle your used cooking oil, let it cool after cooking then put it into a reusable container and then take it to your nearest Recycling Centre and pour the contents into the Cooking Oil Collection Container at the Centre.

N.B. Used car brake fluid can also be disposed of in the Waste Engine Oil Container at the Recycling Centre. 

Electrical and electronic equipment

Unwanted working electrical items can be donated for reuse at the Reuse containers at Friarton Recycling Centre. Enquire directly with your retailer when purchasing a new appliance to check if they are able to take your old one away for recycling. Alternatively electrical and electronic equipment (with the exception of commercial fridges and freezers) can be recycled at Recycling centres and points.

Please note that plug-in oil radiators cannot be recycled as Small WEEE and should instead be recycled alongside fridges and freezers at any of PKC's Recycling Centres.  

Please note that battery-operated, single use disposable vapes, (such as Elf Bars) cannot be recycled as Small-WEEE.  The disposable vapes must only be recycled at PKC Recycling Centres, dropped off at the household batteries collection point at the Recycling Centre.  

Food and drink cartons

Food and drinks cartons, for example Tetrapaks, can be recycled in your Grey bin. 

Furniture

Unwanted good quality furniture can be donated for reuse at the Reuse containers at Crieff and Friarton Recycling Centre. You may also wish to consider using free exchange websites, or alternatively, furniture can be taken to any Council Recycling Centre, where damaged wooden furniture can be placed in the timber/wood container.  Waste Upholstered Domestic Seating (WUDS) must be disposed of in the WUDS container from February 1^st 2024. WUDS include:

• Sofas/Sofa beds
• Armchairs
• Kitchen and dining room chairs
• Stools and foot stools (upholstered)
• Home office chairs
• Futons, bean bags and, floor and sofa cushions
• Electrical recliner chairs

Ink cartridges

Consider reusing your laser or inkjet cartridges by having them re-filled at local outlets. Ink cartridges can be donated to a local charity for reuse or recycling, look within the Charity Shop Map for the printer cartridges symbol to find your nearest option. If you have a constant supply of cartridges you may be able to set up a collection point with a regular uplift service from a charity.

Long-life light bulbs, LED bulbs and fluorescent tubes

Long-life light bulbs and fluorescent tubes can be take to Recycling Centre for recycling (with the exception of Auchterarder and Bankfoot Recycling Centres due to space constraints). It is important, wherever possible, that these items are not disposed of as general waste to be sent to landfill, as they contain heavy metals and precious metals.

Mobile phones

Mobile phones can be easily recycled through online mobile phone recycling companies (enter mobile phone recycling into your search engine); mobile phones dealers and retail outlets (high street stores); or, can be donated to a local charity for reuse or recycling. Look within the charity shop map for the mobile phone symbol to find your nearest option. It is important, wherever possible, that these items are not disposed of as general waste to be sent to landfill, as they contain heavy metals and precious metals.

Paint

To avoid wasted paint, consider using a Paint Calculator (available via an internet search) - just enter the area size that you are looking to paint, and it will calculate the size of paint tin that you need to buy. 

Unwanted paint can be passed on for reuse via online exchange websites. Adverts for unwanted items on these sites are placed free of charge and the unwanted item can then be collected for reuse, at no cost to the householders.

You can refer to our  Paint Fact Sheet (PDF) [117KB] for more information on how to store and correctly dispose of unwanted household paint.

Plastic plant pots and seed trays

Good quality plastic plant pots and seed trays are currently being collected at Crieff Recycling Centre.  They are being reused by Crieff in Leaf.  Please don't donate broken items.  

Stamps

Used postage stamps are collected as part of fundraising activities.  Please remember to leave approximately 1cm of envelope or packaging around each stamp. Stamps can be donated at your local library within the allocated postage stamp collection box.  All donated stamps are forwarded by Perth and Kinross Libraries to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) who recycle them into much-needed funds to  help people with sight loss to access information, support and advice. 

Thermometers 

Thermometers contain mercury but, as it is only a very small amount, the thermometer can be disposed of in the household general waste bin.  The thermometer should first be wrapped in a plastic bag or bubble wrap in case the glass breaks.  

Items we are unable to accept as waste or recycling

The Table below lists some household items which are hazardous and cannot be accepted by PKC Recycling Centres.