Packaging
Reduce / Refuse
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Zero Waste Shops
Have you tried a zero waste shop for significantly cutting down on your packaging waste from everyday supermarket items? Take a look at the South London Partnership's Zero Waste Map to find your closest shop.
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Refill
Help to end plastic waste from disposable water bottles by joining the Refill movement. Residents can download the Refill app to find the Refill Stations near you, and businesses can signup to become a Refill Station.
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Reuse
To donate for reuse:
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Bubble wrap
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Work & Play Scrapstore may take rolls of bubble wrap.
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Offer rolls of bubble wrap for free to neighbours on Facebook Marketplace, Freecycle, Olio or any other marketplace app. People who are moving home or selling items on ebay may be looking for some!
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Jiffy bags and Envelopes
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You can offer any surplus on social marketplace sites and apps, just like bubble wrap.
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Reuse any undamaged or lightly damages jiffy bags or heavy duty envelopes the next time you need to send a letter!
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Mail Order Packaging
You can donate boxes and packaging filler to local business who can use it instead. Check out Packshare for more information.
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Plastic bottles
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Check out Eco bricks and go to the gobrik website (to register your ecobrick, so you can make it available for local projects).
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Plastic sheet wrapping (e.g. large amounts from dry cleaners)
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Can be given to local art colleges to cover their clay sculptures to prevent them from cracking.
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Jam jars
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The local food growing charity Abundance Wimbledon often accept these. They may have limited capacity to please check with them.
Takeaway food containers
Salvation Army drop-in centre on Kingston Road may use them as they offer meals to those who are homeless and so may a use for containers. Please call to check before dropping off.
Recycle
For packaging items that you can't reuse, there are many options to recycle. Here are recycling options for packaging items we get asked about the most.
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For Easy to Recycle Items:
Merton Council Recycling Waste Collection
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Curb side collection accepts . Check your collection days and how to leave your items for collection.
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Garth Road Household Reuse and Recycling Centre has bottle and paper banks for Merton residents to recycle. They also accept many harder to recycle packaging items, such as hard plastics.
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For Harder to Recycle Items:
Terracycle
Terracycle is a national scheme that joins with brands and manufacturers to create free recycling programmes. It is typically brand specific, and some of the types of packaging or products that can be collected for recycling includes crisp packets, yogurt pouches, baby food pouches, cleaning wipes, blister packs, water filters, and packaging from beauty products.
Homes, schools and businesses can sign up to become a drop off point for Terracycle schemes of their choice. To find a Terracycle drop off point near you, visit their website.
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You can also find local drop of points on their social media pages:
Other Terracycle locations nearby are Colliers Wood, Southfields, New Malden, Tolworth- if any of these groups have social media pages we are not aware of, then please get in touch and we will be happy to add them here.
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In-Store Recycling Points
Blister Packs: Most pharmacists will accept medicine packaging for recycling. Ask your local pharmacist first.
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Soft Plastic / Plastic Carrier Bags / Produce Bags: Many large supermarkets accept soft plastic packaging. Find out which types of soft plastics are accepted by each supermarket:
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Packaging Take-Back Schemes
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Dolce Gusto take back used coffee pods.
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Nespresso provides 3 ways to recycle their used coffee pods:
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Drop off the used pods to a Nespresso boutique
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Drop off to a CollectPlus location
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Arrange a complimentary collection service from your home
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Free recycling bags can be obtained from Nespresso boutiques, add it to your basket when placing your order online
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