East Suffolk Council

Hazardous waste

Hazardous waste is any solid or liquid material that may cause harm to human health or the environment if not disposed of correctly.

Examples of hazardous waste:

• Asbestos
• Flammable liquids
• Garden chemicals
• Household cleaning products
• Motoring products
• Paint (Liquid)
• Photographic chemicals
• Poisons
• Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders
• Items containing mercury

Disposal must be done in a way that avoids harming the environment or causing harm to human health. You should never dispose of household hazardous waste (e.g. pesticides or creosote) down sinks, drains, lavatories, watercourses, ditches, near wildlife habitats or ponds. Hazardous waste must not be placed in your normal household rubbish bin.

• Fly-tipped hazardous waste reporting form

Products for disposal should not be mixed together, and containers should be clearly labelled.  

• Visit our clinical waste page for further information on the disposal of clinical waste, syringes and needles
• For further information on waste reduction and recycling visit the Suffolk Recycling website.

Disposal of paint

Empty paint containers

Empty containers of paint (regardless of type) and chemicals can be disposed of in the general household waste bin.

• Leave the lid off so the refuse collection crews can see they are empty.
• Empty and dry metal paint cans can also be recycled with scrap metal at one of the 11 household waste and recycling centres in Suffolk. Some sites also have facilities to recycle empty plastic containers.

Partly used paint containers

Tins of emulsion paint can be disposed of by adding soil and sand to it and leaving it with the lid off (away from children and animals). Once it has solidified it can be disposed of in the black bin.

• Try to use up all your paint - if you only have a small amount left apply another coat to an area that might need extra protection.

Full paint containers

You could see if somebody else could use it. If you can't use your leftover paint, consider donating it to community or theatre groups, schools, churches or others who may need or want it.

Domestic hazardous waste collection

A hazardous waste collection can be arranged for items including paints, weed killer, oil, diesel, petrol, solvents and other hazardous household waste. There is a minimum charge of £48.30 for this service and collection takes place within 25 working days. A 10 working day collection is also available for £55.66, please contact us for more detail or to arrange collection.

Collection, treatment and disposal costs of hazardous waste are expensive for the council (approx. £80 per collection). For this reason, residents are urged to follow the advice as set out in these pages and to use this service only when absolutely necessary.

A list of each item for collection, including product type and volume will be required when booking a hazardous waste collection.

• Contact us to book a hazardous waste collection

Domestic asbestos collection

Cement bonded asbestos is classified as construction and demolition waste and not hazardous household waste. In partnership with Suffolk County Council, we offer a chargeable collection service for small quantities of cement bonded asbestos.

The service is intended for cement bonded asbestos, typically produced by small scale DIY or the odd sheet found behind the garden shed.

Asbestos cement was used in cold water tanks, corrugated/flat sheets (garage and sheds), guttering, downpipes, flue pipes and floor tiles. If in good condition asbestos cement is best left undisturbed, but asbestos sheets may deteriorate with age and may need to be removed.

The charge for under 50kg is £80.41 and collection takes place within 25 working days. A 10 working day collection is also available for £87.77, please contact us for more detail or to arrange collection.

A list of each item including measurements will be required when booking a collection.

• Contact us to book an asbestos collection

Household Waste and Recycling Centres

Hazardous waste such as syringes, asbestos, poisons or flammable liquids cannot be taken to your local Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRC) although it will accept the following items:

• Motor oil
• Car batteries
• Household dry cell batteries
• Fluorescent tubes and light bulbs
• Used cooking oil

For more details, visit the Suffolk Recycling website.