Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)

What to do with your unwanted household electrical items.

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How you can dispose of WEEE items

  • Anything with electrical or electronic parts, a plug or a battery is classified as WEEE and must not be disposed of with your general waste. Electrical items will display a wheelie bin with a cross-through on their packaging (shown in the image). 

Take it back

If you're buying a new electrical item, larger retailers must provide a service to take back an equivalent old electrical item for recycling. Equipment manufacturers, producers, and retailers help pay for recycling old electrical items. 

Take it to a waste recycling centre

You can take all household electrical items to Oxfordshire's waste recycling centres for recycling.

Warning

Ensure you cleanse computers or mobile devices of all personal information and data before taking them to a waste recycling centre.

Donate it

If your item is in working condition, consider donating it. If your electrical item is broken, you could look for a local repair café where volunteers can fix it. 

You could also consider borrowing electrical items that you don't use frequently.

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Disposable vapes and e-cigarettes

Our recycling centres now have dedicated bins to recycle vapes and e-cigarettes.  

Additionally, all Oxfordshire local authorities accept vapes and e-cigarettes as a separate kerbside collection. Do not put disposable vapes inside your wheelie bins. 

How each district collects waste varies slightly; check you have the correct information for your area.

Find a vape collection service

Use the waste wizard search tool to check how your local authority collects this waste or find other drop-off locations in your area.

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Batteries

You can recycle all types of household batteries at our recycling centres, including batteries from your car. 

You can recycle portable batteries—the kind found in small handheld devices—at the kerbside but not inside your bins. Check the waste wizard for instructions on how to do this in your area.

Larger shops that sell batteries have collection points for recycling old batteries.

Remove the batteries from electrical items with removable batteries and recycle them separately.

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Light bulbs and fluorescent tubes

You can recycle the following bulb types at our recycling centres:

  • energy-saving
  • LED
  • compact fluorescent light bulbs and tubes 

Do not put them in any of your bins at home. 

Older-style filament or halogen light bulbs can be disposed of in your general rubbish bin at home.

Some DIY shops have collection points for light bulbs.

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Small household electrical items

You can recycle small electrical items (small enough to fit in a carrier bag) at our waste recycling centres or at the kerbside. 

Things like:

  • clocks
  • laptops
  • small electric heaters
  • hairdryers
  • irons
  • vapes/e-cigarettes
  • shaving equipment
  • smart speakers
  • telephones
  • toasters

Find out more about district council collection services. Use our waste wizard search to learn about disposing of small electrical items.

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Large household electricals

You can take large household electrical items such as those in the list below to any of our recycling centres.

  • cookers  
  • computers
  • fridges and freezers
  • lawnmowers (electric)
  • microwaves
  • monitors
  • televisions
  • vacuum cleaners
  • washing machines/tumble dryers 

Your district or city council can also collect large electrical items through their bulky waste collection schemes. Contact them directly for details, bookings and charges.

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How electrical items are recycled

Electrical items are broken down into separate pasts so that the different materials they are made up of can be removed and recycled.

Keep your personal data safe

Some items, like computers and mobile devices, may be recycled or reused by our contractors. Therefore, you must ensure that you have completely removed any personal information before taking them to a waste recycling centre.

We do not cleanse these items after delivery and are not responsible for any data held on them.

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Businesses - how traders can recycle their old electrical items

Waste recycling centres are for use by householders only and cannot accept waste from commercial sources. However, small businesses and traders must comply with the WEEE regulations.

Read the duty of care to find out how to comply with the new regulations and make financial savings for your business.

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