Aluminium Cans
See recycling centres list above.
Batteries
Ideally use rechargeables as there are no facilities locally for recycling household batteries. Car batteries can be taken to the Bidston waste reception centre, address above. Some garages also accept them for recycling.
Bedding
Local charity shops, or Salvation Army usually need bedding and old clothes, Tel 0151 638 6899.
Bicycles and components
Bike Links (Manchester) 0161 736 6366. Books
Modern educational/non-fiction; WLA21N are a collection point for Books for Gambia, see above. Fiction; most charity shops, or check with libraries for special schemes. Book bank available at Asda Wallasey recycling centre, , see list above.
Bric-a-brac
Most charity shops take small household goods, but not electrical items.
Cardboard
ABC Together is recycling domestic and business cardboard (clean, dry, corrugated cardboard, plain or printed, but not glossy), Tel 0151 677 4777, 22a Tarran Way North, Moreton, Wirral. CH46 4UA. www.abctogether.co.uk.
CDs, DVDs and Magazine Give-away discs
Trade in your unwanted CDs and DVDs or donate them to charity shops.
Damaged and broken discs (including cases and cassettes) can be recycled by Polymer Reprocessors Ltd, Reeds Lane, Moreton, Wirral, CH46 1DW. Please phone them first on 0151 606 0456.
Clothes
Most charity shops accept good quality used clothing. Salvation Army 0151 355 2808 or 0151 677 4002.
Coins - Foreign / UK
Take to branches of Help the Aged or Oxfam shops also accept old UK & foreign coins.
Computers
If they are still working, why not donate to a voluntary group or charity? Contact your local CVS. I.T.M.P., 0151 922 3555. Also, 3tc, 16 Crosby Road North, Waterloo, Liverpool, L22 0NY. 0151 285 4000, Email: info@3tc.org.uk. Also, Create Liverpool, Speke Hall Road, Liverpool, L24 9HA. Tel: 0151 448 1748.
Educational Materials
Writing materials, educational and reading books, other learning materials can be sent to poor schools in Africa. Shirley Johnson, 01978 772054.
Envelopes
Buy recycled, or use again with re-use labels, available from Centre for Alternative Technology, Mid-Wales, Tel 01654 705950.
Fabric
See recycling centres list above (textiles). Also, clean, unused fabric, ribbons, etc: Wirral Play Council, Tel 0151 650 0030 / 201 7883.
Fluorescent tubes
Biffa Waste run collection service, Tel 0151 357 3026.
Foil
See recycling centres list above.
Furniture
WIRE (Wirral Independent Recycling Enterprise) collects and sells unwanted furniture and white goods. Units 12 - 14 Kelvinside, Wallasey,CH44 7JY, Tel 0151 638 6691, email enquiries@wire-ltd.com. St Johns Hospice; free collection of good quality furniture, in aid of Wirral Hospice, Mark Jones, Tel 0151 334 2778. Also try St Vincent De Paul Society, Tel 0151 630 3569. See also Large Items, below.
Garden Waste
Compost as much as possible yourself and use WBC Garden Waste Collection Brown Bins (available to all Wirral residents by end 2007) for grass mowings, hedge cuttings, prunings, weeds, old plants, leaves. The material collected is composted so must not contain soil, bricks, sods, plastic packaging or food waste.
Glass bottles and jars
Take to your nearest bottle bank, see list above. Glass jars; check with your local WI or church, they may be welcomed for home-made pickles and preserves.
Junk Mail
Write to Mailing Preference Service, Freepost 22, London W1E 7EZ, Tel 0845 307 7707 for details of how to reduce (but probably not completely eliminate) your unwanted direct mail. Otherwise return to sender in reply paid envelope or recycle as paper.
Large Items
See information under Furniture above for WIRE Ltd., or use ERIC Service (now £15) for the removal of up to six items of furniture, including large electrical goods / white goods and garden furniture. Tel 0151 666 5252, email streetscene@wirral.gov.uk, More information at www.wirral.gov.uk/be/eric.htm
Magazines
May be welcomed in hospitals' and doctors' waiting rooms, etc. Otherwise recycle as paper.
Mobile phones
Check local press for seasonal schemes via local schools and charities. WLA21N is collecting old mobiles phones; send them to Greener Solutions, FREEPOST LONI7592, PO Box 32343, London, SW17 9ZZ. Mention Wirral LA21 Network as your nominated charity, tel WLA21N 0151 639 2121 or email info@la21.net.
Medicines
Return to your pharmacy for free, safe destruction.
Nappies
"Disposable" nappies are not disposable, do not save you money, and are not kind to babies. Modern cotton nappies with Velcro instead of pins are now locally available. They are better for the environment, better for your baby's skin and cheaper.
Want to talk to someone who has used both disposables and real nappies, and can compare the two in an honest and informative way?
www.lizziesrealnappies.org.uk or tel 01244 346 797. Wash them at home, or use Cotton Tails Nappy Laundry Service for convenience - free trial of all supplies for 1 month, www.cottontails.co.uk or tel 01244 374521. Net Curtains
Runcorn couple collects close-knit net curtains for use as children's mosquito nets in Africa. Call Shirley Johnson on 01928 573664.
Oil
Call the Oil Bank Line 0800 663 366 for your nearest disposal facilities. Vegetable oil cannot be mixed with motor oil for recycling. Put in a sealed container in your bin. Bidston waste reception centre has oil banks. Vegetable oil: please email rosie@la21.net who will arrange to collect it for use as car fuel.
Paint
Non-toxic: Community Re Paint via Wirral LA21 Network (see above).
Paper
Fortnightly "Blue Bag" collections of paper and non-Yellow directories are made from the kerbside by WBC. For every tonne of paper collected, £1 is donated to the "Save the Children" fund and "Claire House" Appeal, see the WBC website for a collection calendar. Some local schools and paper bank skips at recycling centres now take Yellow Pages. Wirral Play Council use paper to make papier-mache, Tel 0151 650 0030 / 201 7883.
Petrol coupons / phone cards etc
Merseyside branch of Leukaemia Research fund can buy medical equipment with current and out-of-date petrol coupons, Smart Card Points, Air Miles, Green Shield Stamps, cigarette coupons, used telephone cards, etc. Send to 42 Borella Rd, West Derby, Liverpool L13 OBZ. Also, Oxfam shops.
Photographs
If of local topographical interest donate to your nearest library and simply ask them to pass on to the relevant library or records office. More general snaps can be sent to Barnardo's Photographic Archive, which is a fascinating insight into 19^th to 21^st century social history; John Kirkham, Barnardo's, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG6 1QG.
Plant cuttings
Friends of the Earth welcome cuttings to sell at events and raise funds, Tel Charles 0151 639 1194. Also, check with local gardening clubs.
Plastic bags
Refuse or re-use where possible. Sainsbury's and Tesco's recycle. Charity shops often need clean carrier bags. Co-op now supplies biodegradable bags.
Plastic containers
Riverview Contractors operate a plastic bottle bank at Asda in Wallasey, Tel 0151 639 1946.
Polystyrene
Save-a-Cup Recycling Co, High Wycombe, supply drinks machines using recyclable hard walled polystyrene cups, Tel 01977 607766.
Printer & toner cartridges
Check your local school or computer shop for recycling schemes. Also, Cartridge World, Leasowe Road, Wallasey, supplies and refills cartridges for less than the price of new ones, Tel 0151 346 9898. Toner Recharge Ltd 0151 re-manufactures toner cartridges & supplies consumables for laser printers & photocopiers, Tel 0151 922 0560.
Scrap Metal
Aluminium; see recycling centres list above. For other metals; Bidston waste reception centre (see above).
Sewing Machines
Singer machines: Tools for Self Reliance, Stephen Pillow, Tel 0151 334 6318. Other brands: Out of Africa, Julie Martin, Tel 01202 694 492.
Shoes
Most charity shops and Shoemarket on Seaview Road, Liscard, take shoes and wellies to be sold or recycled. Also, see recycling centres list above.
Spectacles
Many opticians collect these for use in developing countries. Alternatively, send clean, good condition spectacles well wrapped (without case) and pack them in a sturdy cardboard box clearly marked to: Vision Aid Overseas, 12 The Bell Centre, Newton Road, Manor Royal, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 2FZ.
Stamps
Wirral Toy Library, Woodchurch Lane, Prenton, Tel 0151 608 8288.
Tools
Tools for Self Reliance send tools and Singer sewing machines to Africa. Contact Stephen Pillow, Tel 0151 334 6318.
White Goods
Cookers, washing machines, fridges, freezers etc. See large items (above) or request a Kerbside Collection from http://www.wirral.gov.uk/atoz/request.asp?id=723
Miscellaneous
A private scheme has started on Wirral collecting glass, tins, plastics, paper, cardboard, clothes and others for recycling. Collections are made either monthly or weekly and cost from £5 per trip depending on load.  Contact Ms Jackie Spraggett: 0151 678 2403 Email: markjackie@mspraggett.freeserve.co.uk.