Confused of Charlbury

Wed 14 Jan, 14:29

Hannen, I think cables etc. go in the black box for electricals. At least, that's where I have been putting them, and they have always been collected.

You can recycle low-energy light bulbs (both LED and compact fluorescent) at any Waitrose store at the Welcome Desk. Other supermarkets and stores probably also offer this facility, including Robert Dyas. These bulbs contain small quantities of mercury which is valuable, and this is why they shouldn't go in the grey bin. 

Travelling to any Oxfordshire recycling centre is now extremely off-putting for people from Charlbury (the 30 minute booking time is too short for me to get reliably get there in time, and booking 2 weeks in advance makes it impossible to know what the weather and the road conditions will be like). 

This means that I will be unlikely to take things to Dix Pit unless there's really no feasible alternative. I do wish the arrangement to take things to Shipston on Stour in Warwickshire could be formally reinstated! It looks, however, that for the next few months small cars don't need documentation to take waste to any Warwickshire recycling centre -- Oxfordshire's loss, Warwickshire's gain! 

Wed 14 Jan, 13:40

I have a lot of old electrical cables to dispose of (IT-related, e.g. PC, ethernet, and printer cables, all now "obsolete" due to Wi-Fi connectivity).  Having read the WODC Refuse guidance, I'm no further forward.  I have no idea whether to put them in the blue bin, the grey bin, the black box, or in a plastic bag (like batteries).

I suspect that they shouldn't go to a landfill.

The guidance has become Byzantine: e.g., "ordinary" lightbulbs can, I think, go in the grey bin (why not for recycling or the black box?), but low-energy bulbs must be taken to a recycling centre (for which the visit now has to be booked in advance).

Can there not be some simplification, as otherwise I think many people will just throw everything in the grey bin?