Additional items for recycling

We collect small electrical items, household batteries, coffee pods and clothing including shoes. These additional items need to be placed in a carrier bag on top of your two-wheeled recycling bin. This service is for properties that use two-wheeled bins.

Please do not put additional items in your recycling bin or in black sacks.

When will the additional items be collected?

On the scheduled collection day for your road.  To see when this is, please click the button below.

What counts as a small electrical item?

Small electrical items which include items as toasters, kettles, hairdryers, irons, shavers, phones, electric toothbrushes, games consoles, can be recycled from the kerbside. 

These items should be no bigger than 52cm x 51cm in size and placed in a plastic carrier bag on top of the two wheeled recycling bin on the scheduled collection day for your road.

What clothing will be collected?

We will pick up pairs of shoes, tops, shirts, trousers, jeans, skirts, tights, socks, hats, scarves, gloves, jumpers, hoodies and more. Your items of clothing should be placed inside a carrier bag and left on top of the two wheeled recycling bin on the scheduled collection day for your road.

What type of batteries will be collected?

Small household batteries including button batteries and batteries from mobile phones and laptops. Your batteries should be placed inside a carrier bag and left on top of your bin on your collection day.

Vapes are not considered batteries and should not be included with household batteries for additional item collections.

Coffee pod collection service

Waltham Forest Council was the first London borough to work with Podback to collect coffee pods, which can include tea and hot chocolate pods. Pods need to be placed in bags provided by Podback. To order these bags and for further information on coffee pod recycling in Waltham Forest, please click here.

What happens to the collected additional items?

Batteries and coffee pods will be recycled, while clothing and small electrical items will be resued if suitable, and recycled if they are not fit for reuse.

What if the additional item collection was missed?

If additional items presented in a plastic bag on top of two-wheeled recycling bins are not collected, you can report this within three days of the scheduled collection day for your road.

Please log into your self account to report a missed additional item collection and let us know what was missed so it can be collected.

Flats with communal bins

If you live in a flat with communal bins, please take your small electrical items, clothing and shoes to your nearest recycling bank.

All Waltham Forest libraries collect batteries to recycle. Alternatively, most supermarkets also have a battery bin.

Coffee pods from flats with communal bins can only be collected from Podback collection points. To find where your closest collection point is, see the Podback website.