How can I recycle?

There are lots of different ways to recycle your rubbish depending on where you live in London and the type of material to be recycled. They are:

• Collections from your home - approximately 80 per cent of Londoners now have services collecting recyclable materials from their home in a bag, box or wheelie bin. You may be surprised at what you can recycle. If you live in a block of flats where collection from outside your door is difficult, you may have recycling bins alongside your rubbish bins, or close to the entrance to your flats. If you live above a shop you may have a recycling bag collection service, which will be collected from your kerbside at a specified day and time.

• Collections from street recycling sites - these are your local recycling banks for materials such as glass bottles, cans, paper and textiles. Some also collect plastic bottles, books and toner cartridges. You can find them in places like your local supermarket car park, on housing estates and on London's streets. You might have one just round the corner.

• Reuse and Recycling Centres - most boroughs have larger sites where you can take your recyclable materials that are not collected as part of your recycling collection from home. Some sites also take household waste that can't be reused or recycled. These sites can often recycle much more than your collections from home and your local street recycling sites, for example cardboard, plastic bottles and household electrical items.

Some boroughs also collect other materials for recycling from your home, such as green garden waste, cookers and fridges. You may have to make an appointment for these services and a charge may be made.

What if services aren't available in your area?

Unfortunately, collection services from homes may not available to everyone at the moment. This may be because:

• you live in a purpose-built flat or on an estate

• you live in a converted property where there are a number of flats

• you do not have a front doorstep where you can leave your bag, box or wheelie bin, i.e. because you live above a shop or restaurant

You local borough is working hard to find ways to collect from these types of properties and will be developing new services to help you recycle more. If you live in one of these types of properties, contact your local council to find out more.