Recycle With Us

Some things just can’t go in your council recycling bin, but that doesn’t mean they have to end up as waste! Many items can instead be recycled at certain shops, through supermarket schemes, or at our Sussex Green Living community drop-off points.

For several years we’ve been working with TerraCycle, a global leader in recycling hard to recycle materials, to collect things like soft plastics, cheese wrappers, make-up packaging and more. These everyday items are kept out of landfill and incineration, and turned into useful new products.

The recycling also helps raise funds for local good causes including the Purple Community Fund, Springboard Project, William Penn School, Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance, as well as supporting Sussex Green Living’s community projects.

Soft plastic packaging such as bread bags and fruit punnets can now also be taken back to many supermarkets. Check our Supermarket Recycling page to see what your local store accepts. Whenever possible, bring them to us and our volunteers will make sure every item is directed to the best recycling or reuse facility.

What we can recycle:

  • Plastic writing implements
  • Bread bags & Warburtons wax wrap packaging, plus closure tags
  • Sweet & cheese biscuit & cake packaging
  • Cheese packaging bags, pouches, nets inc Babybel wax
  • Marigolds gloves – latex, vinyl, nitrile, polyethylene disposable & durable gloves
  • Inkjet cartridges (sorry not laser), air fresheners & water filters
  • Ferrero Rocher aluminium wrappers, plastic box & trays
  • Personal care packaging – flexible plastic & metallic tubes for body cream, ointments & moisturisers, make up – eye, lip & cheek, highligher & bronze sticks, mascara tubes & wands, flexible plastic packaging from face cleaning wipes
  • Wine Corks (natural) – recycle with us – Horsham folks please take them to Majestic Wine
  • Glasses & Contact lenses – recycle through us – Horsham folks please take them to your local optician
  • Inhalers – recycle with us – Horsham folks please take them to your local pharmacy
  • Helium Balloons – recycle with us
  • Crayons and Pencils – recycle with us
  • Bras – we donate to www.necs.org.uk a UK charity who support communities in Uganda
  • Aluminum ring pulls ONLY COLOURED ONES – councils can recycle, but we donate to www.p-c-f.org a UK charity who support communities in the Philippines
  • Milk bottle lids – can go in your council bin (left on cartons), but we donate them to give to the Springboard Project
  • Toothbrushes & electric heads, packaging, inter-dental brushes, tooth picks, floss packaging – Horsham folks take them to Boots. NOTE: Toothpaste tubes those you can squeeze can go in your council recycling bin

Find your nearest Sussex Green Living village drop-off point

Our amazing volunteers will make sure your items are passed on to the right place for recycling or reuse.]

Any questions, comments or if you are interested in setting up a drop-off location in your community, please email

Find your Nearest Location

Valuable and Data-Sensitive Items

Alongside everyday packaging, we also collect items that hold extra value or may contain personal data. These need to be donated at one of our pop-up collection events in Arundel, Amberley, Billingshurst, Cowfold, Partridge Green, Slinfold, Southwater, Storrington, Thakeham, Upper Beeding, or at the Sussex Green Hub in Horsham on the last Saturday of each month at the United Reformed Church.

Items include:

  • Jewellery and Watches (in any material, even if damaged or broken)
  • Currency – coins or banknotes, UK and foreign, even if out of circulation
  • Mobile phones
  • Cameras (old film, digital and video)
  • Stamps (loose, single, albums, first day covers, presentation packs, collections)
  • Gadgets (Sat-Navs, iPods, MP3 players, games consoles, games and accessories)
  • Tablet computers

Ink Cartridge Recycling

We recycle ANY inkjet cartridges and refills, receiving a donation for Original Cartridges to help with our ongoing work. Our public drop off locations are:

  • William Penn Primary School, Coolham, Nr Billingshurst, RH13 8GR
  • Quaker Meeting House, Worthing Road, Horsham, RH12 1SL (please use the green bin by cottage door, right side of the main building, under the window)
  • Sussex Green Hub, last Saturday of the month, United Reformed Church, RH12 2RG
  • Plus other locations seen here

Ink cartridge recycling at work or school

If you would like to set up a collection box at work or school, up to £2 per cartridge will be donated to our environmental work. Just order a pre-paid box or bag from Recycle4Charity and use the Sussex Green Living code C73431.

Order Here
Milk bottle top recycling

Plastic Milk Bottle Tops

Plastic bottle tops (attached to the bottle) can be recycled in WSCC household recycling bins but you can donate the lids at our drop offs and support the Springboard Project, Horsham – a community based charity that provides inclusive play and leisure opportunities for families with young children and teenagers with disabilities.

Plastic milk bottle tops can be recycled to make hard plastic toys for children, such as slides and other garden toys. They also go to make more bottle tops!

Income generated from this recycling benefits the Springboard Project in Horsham. It is a community based charity that provides inclusive play and leisure opportunities for families with young children and fun short breaks for children and teenagers with disabilities.

Plastic bottle tops can be recycled in WSCC household recycling bins (squash the air out of the bottle and then put the lid on when the bottle is dry and clean) but we would prefer to give the plastic milk bottle lids to the Springboard Project. If you would like to donate your bottle lids, take them to one of our Horsham District drop off locations as seen here.

The milk bottle lids need to be:

  • Washed and clean.
  • Free of any paper, rubber or foil inserts or labels.
  • Lids which display in a triangle on the underside of the lid the number 2, 02, 4 or 04.

Aluminium Ring Pull Recycling

Aluminium ring pulls can be recycled in council recycling bins, however we collect coloured ring pulls for the Purple Community Fund, which helps Filipino families as part of their livelihood programme. The majority of these families earn a living from recycling the cities’ waste collected from landfills. The programme provides training for women to earn sustainable, reliable incomes by making upcycled products and have the opportunity to start their own business to support their family and keep their children in school.

The aluminium ring pulls we collect are upcycled into merchandise and we sell some of items at Events and at our monthly Sussex Green Hub.

Drop and Donate – put them in a bag and then pop them in our village collection bins or bring them to the Sussex Green Hub.

Purple Community Fund recycle ring pulls
Textile recycling

Textile Recycling

West Sussex based mother of 3, Karrie, set up Bags of Support in 2012. She was frustrated by the amount of textile waste produced in this country and the simultaneous need for clothing abroad. This great community organisation helps to raise money for schools, prevents textiles from going to landfill and provides an ongoing supply of clothing and shoes to poor families in Romania as well as supporting communities in Uganda and Malawi.

There is no limit on the number of collections you can have but Bags of Support recommends one a term for the best results.

The clothes need to be clean and in good condition.

To book a one off collection or set up a recycling scheme, email or call 07917 797084. Money raised can go to your school, charity, community initiative or to support Bags of Support work!

Learn more

Council Recycling

As well as the regular kerbside collection recycling, West Sussex County Council also offer recycling of Hard Plastics, Coffee Pods, Textiles, Large Furniture Items, Garden Waste.

Learn more

Supermarket Recycling

Most supermarkets take soft plastics (more than just your carrier bags!) as well as batteries, water filter cartridges.

Learn more

Don’t Recycle!

Have you thought about reusing your packaging and refilling? Or can your item be repaired. Find out more about refills and repair cafes in your area.

Learn more

Ink Cartridge Recycling at Work or School

If you would like to set up a collection box at work or school, up to £2 per cartridge will be donated to our environmental work. Order a pre-paid box or bag from Recycle4Charity.