Resource Cumbria : Recycling in Cumbria : Materials : M

At the moment we don`t have the facilities for recycling old mattresses. Any mattresses that are unusable should be disposed of in the general waste skip at a Household Waste Recycling Centre. Mattresses in good condition can be offered on Freegle or Freecycle or on a social media sale and wanted site.

Medicines & tablets

Do not flush medicines down the toilet. Unopened, unused and out-of-date medicines should be returned to pharmacies for disposal. Inhalers should not be put in the waste bin as they contain gases which are harmful to the environment. Instead they can be recycled at any pharmacy. The cardboard box that houses the blister packs can be recycled, as can any paper inserts.

You can take scrap metal to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre, or take it to any scrap metal merchants.

Some types of glass do not melt at the same temperature as bottles and jars. If they enter the glass recycling process it can result in new containers being rejected. These include mirrors. Broken mirrors should be wrapped carefully so as not to cause injury and placed into your general waste bin. Charity shops may accept mirrors for re-sale - check with your local charity shop first. Our charity shop reuse map has details of local charity shops in the area

Mobile phones contain a range of materials including metals, plastics and several valuable components - such as silver - which can be extracted and re-used. There are an increasing number of options for recycling and re-using old mobile phones. It is important to ensure that your personal data is removed from your mobile phone before you pass it on or send it for recycling. The main channels for disposing of mobiles are the shops that sell them, but there are other organisations and charities that accept them for refurbishment and recycling. Up to 80 per cent of a phone is recyclable, so don`t bin it or leave it in the drawer - recycle it! If your phone is beyond repair, please remove the battery if possible and recycle it in a battery recycling bank. If it isn`t possible to remove the battery, please recycle the whole item in the waste electricals skip at one of our Household Waste Recycling Centres.