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Snow update: bin collections

There may be delays to bin collections due to the snow and ice this week. Please leave your bin out and it will be collected when it is safe to do so

Recycling events

Give your old electricals and clothing a second lease of life

Electrical, textile and toy reuse and recycling event

Thursday 22 January The Costessey Centre, Longwater Lane, Costessey, NR8 5AH

Join us at our reuse and recycling event, where you can drop off unwanted items and give them a second life.

We are accepting small electrical items, textiles, toys and books.

Event timings

  • 10am - 2pm: Drop off your unwanted items
  • 12pm - 2pm: Browse and pick up preloved items

Items are free to take. Optional donations can be made for items reused, with all donations supporting the Ted Ellis Trust - Wheatfen Nature Reserve, the Chairman’s Charity.

Any items left at the end of the event will be donated to Big C, so nothing goes to waste.

Examples of electricals we can accept

  • Toasters and kettles
  • PCs, laptops and monitors
  • Household printers
  • TVs
  • Microwaves
  • Electric garden tools and lawnmowers
  • Hoovers and carpet cleaners
  • Games consoles
  • Torches
  • Cameras
  • Blenders
  • Cables and chargers
  • Clocks and watches
  • Small power tools
  • Hairdryers and hair straighteners
  • Electronic bags
  • Telephones
  • Electronic tablets such as iPads
  • Electric toothbrushes
  • LED lights and Christmas lights
  • DVD and CD players, radios, MP3 players
  • Remote controls
  • Small bedside lamps
  • Irons
  • Shavers
  • Calculators

Electricals we cannot accept

  • White goods such as dishwashers, fridges, freezers and washing machines
  • Lightbulbs
  • Commercial items
  • Glass or ceramic items such as slow cookers and glass kettles
  • Vapes and electronic cigarettes
  • Hazardous waste or business waste

Textiles we can accept

  • Clothing
  • Blankets
  • Towels
  • Pillowcases, sheets and duvet covers
  • Hats
  • Belts
  • Handbags
  • Shoes tied together in pairs
  • Old textiles or rags that can be recycled

Textiles we cannot accept

  • Duvets
  • Pillows
  • Cushions
  • Soiled textiles
  • Carpet

What happens to your items

All of the electrical items collected at our recycling events are sent to a contractor in Costessey, where they are dismantled and the individual components are recycled.

All textiles collected are taken by our contractor and sorted into items that can be reused or recycled. Textiles that cannot be reused are shredded into fibres, which are then used to create new fabric.

No waste in Norfolk goes to landfill. Landfill sites have been closed since 2016, and any waste that cannot be reused or recycled is sent to an energy-from-waste plant to generate heat and electricity.

Illustrations of different school uniform items. Text: Helping families, saving money, reducing waste

School Uniform Swap

We are helping local families save money and reduce waste with our School Uniform Swap Shops – running at three of our leisure centres in South Norfolk.

Locations

Open during each centre’s normal opening hours (no booking needed).

How it works

  • Donate clean, good-condition school uniforms your children have outgrown
  • Take what your family needs — all completely free
  • No cost, no forms, no questions — just community helping community

What you can donate

  • School jumpers and cardigans
  • Polo shirts and school shirts
  • Trousers, skirts, pinafores
  • PE kits and school shoes (in good condition)
  • Ties and accessories
  • Christmas jumpers

Items should be clean and in wearable condition.

Together we can give good uniforms a second life — and help ease the cost of new school uniforms.

For centre opening hours, contact info or questions visit the South Norfolk leisure website.

Holding your own reuse event