Cages and hutches
You can reuse pet cages and hutches by donating them to your local RSPCA centre or animal shelter. Please check first.
If the cages are made of metal, you can deposit them at household waste recycling centres in the scrap metal skip.
Cans (steel and aluminium)
All councils offer kerbside collections of cans and tins. Contact your local district or borough council for more information about kerbside collection schemes.
You can recycle cans at household waste recycling centres.
Metal cans are 100% recyclable. They can be recycled again and again and can be back on the shelf within 60 days.
One metal drink can, over the cycle of a year, can be recycled 8 times. This saves enough energy to make another 160 cans.
Seventy-five per cent of the aluminium ever made is still in productive use today.
The energy saved by recycling one aluminium drink can could run a fridge for an hour.
Car batteries
Car batteries need to be disposed of carefully. Find out more about disposing of car batteries.
Cardboard
Keep larger cardboard boxes for storage or in case you or a friend need to move house.
Smaller boxes are useful for posting gifts or carrying items.
Use boxes as containers to keep your recycling tidy.
Add small portions of cardboard to your compost bin. Find out about making your own compost.
Add it to your kerbside collection where available. Contact local district or borough council for more information about kerbside collection schemes.
Take unwanted cardboard to our household waste recycling centres.
Corrugated packaging material is made up from nearly 100% recycled material.
Cards (greeting and Christmas)
Donate old greetings and Christmas cards to your local playgroups.
Consider buying and sending cards online.
Add them to your kerbside collection where available. Contact your local district or borough council for more information about kerbside collection schemes.
Some high street shops have donation boxes for old Christmas cards.
Carpets
Spruce up you carpet by using a carpet cleaner.
If the carpet is in good condition, sell it through advertising in your local newspaper or on community notice boards.
Check to see if your local charity shop can make use of it.
Offer it on your local Freecycle or Freeglenetwork.
Cut it up into smaller sizes and use them as mats for the shed, back door or in the garage.
Use old carpet as a pond liner under the waterproof membrane.
Use it on top of your compost heap to insulate it in winter and then cover with a waterproof sheet or lid.
Carpet can be taken to our household waste recycling centres.
Carrier bags
See bags under A to Z guide on waste - B.
Cars
If the car is in good condition you could sell it.
Depending on the make and model of your car it may be useful for spare parts. Check with your local garage or scrap dealer.
Check your legal obligations with the DVLA (Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority).
If your car is only fit for disposal take it to a registered scrapyard.
Cartons
Cartons may be able to be recycled in your kerbside recycling scheme. Contact your local district or borough council to check if they can.
We provide food and drink carton recycling banks at all of our household waste recycling centres except Bolsover.
The cartons will be collected and taken to a paper mill where they will be used to make plasterboard.
Cartons are often used for fruit juice, UHT milk and sometimes for soups and other sauces.
Cat litter
Used cat litter can only be disposed of in your refuse bin.
CD and DVD cases
Consider a membership with an on-demand media streaming service.
Reuse old cases to replace damaged cases or for copied CDs.
Offer them to your local library or donate them to your local charity shop.
Offer them on your local Freecycle or Freeglenetwork.
Take them to your local radio station.
CDs, DVDs and records
Consider a membership with an on-demand media streaming service.
Buy and download music and films from the internet.
Rent DVDs from your local library.
Donate them to your local charity shops or offer them on your local Freecycle or Freeglenetwork.
Pass them onto family or friends that may be interested.
Sell them at a car boot sale or on internet auction websites.
Charity shops
Charity shops are always on the lookout for donations and are a great way to recycle or have your items reused.
There are over 100 charity shops in Derbyshire that provide good quality second hand and new products.
Charity shops accept textiles, small furniture, ornaments, books, CDs and DVDs. If you're having a big clear out it's worth contacting your local charity shop for more details on items they accept.
Find your nearest charity shop or furniture reuse project.
Chemicals (household)
Household chemicals are accepted at our household waste recycling centres in small quantities (5 litres or 5kg). Find out more about hazardous household waste.
If you have a larger quantity of these hazardous household wastes, or you cannot to take it to a recycling centre, please contact us for advice, email: wastemanagement@derbyshire.gov.uk or tel: 01629 538120.
Christmas trees
Artificial trees can be reused each year.
Some real Christmas trees can be re-used by planting them outside and digging them up again at Christmastime and replanting after the festive period.
You can recycle real Christmas trees at our household waste recycling centres.
Your local district or borough council may offer Christmas tree shredding services.
Civic amenity sites
We call our civic amenity sites household waste recycling centres. You may call them your local tip or dump.
Cleaning fluids
Try natural cleaners. Lemon juice, soda crystals and bicarbonate of soda mixed together is a great alternative to get your taps sparkling, dissolve grease and clean work surfaces.
Our household waste recycling centres accept household cleaning fluids.
Clinical waste
If you need a clinical waste collection, contact your local surgery, GP or district nurse who should initially set it up.
For missed collections of clinical waste contact your local district or borough council for advice and information.
Clothes
See textiles under A to Z guide on waste - T.
Clothes hangers
When clothes shopping, decline free hangers where possible.
Donate unwanted hangers to local art projects, schools, colleges.
Offer them on your local Freecycle or Freeglenetwork.
Some dry cleaners accept hangers. It's worth checking first with your local dry cleaner.
Some supermarkets now accept coat hangers for recycling. Check with your local store.
If you cannot reuse metal coat hangers take them to household waste recycling centres.
Coins
Exchange collections of small change at banks for notes.
Sell them on internet auction websites.
Offer them to specialist collectors groups or donate them to charity.
Commercial waste
Contact your local district or borough council for advice and information on disposing of commercial waste.
Compost
Don't throw it away - use it in your garden or for potted plants. Find out about composting your waste.
You can recycle your unwanted compost at household waste recycling centres.
Computers
Donate your unwanted or old computers to charity. IT for Charities has more information.
Donate them to local youth groups, community organisations or offer them to relatives.
Offer them on your local Freecycle or Freeglenetwork.
Advertise in the free ads section of your local newspaper.
Sell them on internet auction websites or apps and through social media.
Computers can be recycled at our household waste recycling centres.
Cookers
Sell your cooker on an internet auction website, app or social media.
Donate it to a local furniture project for reuse. Please check with them first.
You can dispose of your unwanted cooker at any of our household waste recycling centres.
Check with your local district or borough council to see if they'll collect and dispose of your unwanted cooker for you.
Crockery
Donate unwanted crockery to your local charity shops.
Sell it on internet auction websites, apps or through social media.
Donate it to a homeless shelter.
Curtains
Donate unwanted curtains to your local charity shops.
Sell them to The Curtain Exchange.
Offer them on your local Freecycle or Freeglenetwork.
Advertise them in the free ads section of your local newspaper.
If they aren't good enough quality to reuse as curtains they could be used as dust sheets.
Take them to the textile banks at your local recycling centre or to any of our household waste recycling centres.