At King's, we aim to recycle 75% of our waste.

Recycling correctly can have significant positive environmental impact. Not only does it save resources, it also saves energy needed in producing items such as plastic bottles or drink cans.

You can help us achieve our target by following our Waste A-Z to learn about how to dispose of common waste types at King's. 

Waste A-Z 

• Aerosols: Aerosols such as deodorant cans, air fresheners and spray paint are seen as potential hazards by some recycling facilities, and should therefore be placed in general waste.
• Aluminium: Aluminium cans are a valuable resource and should always be disposed of in recycling bins. Aluminium foil should be placed in general waste.

• Batteries: Please place used batteries in the special bins located across each campus.
  • Denmark Hill – Receptions of David Goldberg Centre; Henry Wellcome Building; Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre; Addiction Sciences Building; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.
  • Guy’s – New Hunt's House security and Hodgkin Building security.
  • Strand – Receptions of Strand Building; Macadam Building; Maughan Library; Virginia Woolf Building.
  • Waterloo – James Clark Maxwell Building welcome desk and opposite G.20, Franklin Wilkins Building
• Paper bags: Paper bags should be placed in mixed recycling. For plastic carrier bags, see plastic bags.
• Books: Rather than throwing old books away, consider donating them to a charity shop where they can be used to raise money for a good cause. University textbooks are also likely to be useful to other students, so consider giving them away within your department. All King's Libraries also have book swaps, so if you would like to swap your books for some new ones, speak to the library team at your campus. If necessary, books can be placed in mixed recycling.
• Bulky items: Please see furniture.

• Cables: See WEEE pages for more information on collections.
• Cans: Both steel and aluminium cans can be recycled, and unless specific bins are available, they should be placed in mixed recycling. Cans should be empty before disposal.
• Cardboard: Cardboard can be recycled in mixed recycling bins. Please make sure to flat pack boxes – this will not only save space in the bin, but ensure they are not taken out in the sorting process. Cardboard boxes such as pizza boxes are often removed from the recycling waste stream when they are closed, as opening them and checking content/contamination would slow down the process. We now have cardboard balers available at some buildings – if you are disposing of a large quantity of cardboard, please speak to a member of your local campus operations team.
• Cartons: Food and drinks cartons such as tetra paks should be placed in mixed recycling.
• Cartridges: Please use the printer cartridge bins across King's campuses. If cartridge bins are not available at your site, take or send used printer cartridges to your local post room for recycling.
• CDs/DVDs: Data media can be disposed of via WEEE collections. Please see the WEEE pages for more information on collections.
• Chemical Waste: For information on chemical and hazardous waste, please refer to the information on the Health & Safety pages.
• Clinical Waste: For information on clinical and hazardous waste, please refer to the information on the Health & Safety pages.
• Clothes/Textiles: Clothes and textiles in good condition can be donated to charity shops or placed in on-street clothes/textiles recycling bins. Check your local council websites for more information.
• Coffee cups: Where available please place disposable coffee cups in special coffee cup bins to be recycled into new products. Find out more about the Simply Cups recycling process here. Where no coffee cup bins are available, please place disposable coffee cups in general waste. Due to the waterproof polyethylene lining bonded to the cardboard, they need specialist processing and cannot be recycled through standard mixed recycling streams.
• Computers: See WEEE pages for more information on collections.
• Confidential paper: Confidential paper should be disposed of confidential paper bins.
• Construction waste: Please refer to the Health & Safety pages for information on Site Waste Management Plans.
• Crisp / Sweet Wrappers: The material these are made from are not recyclable, as it is but a mix of foil and plastic, so these should go in the general waste. A good test if you’re unsure is to scrunch it up in your fist – if it doesn’t stay scrunched but pops back, then it isn’t foil and should go in general waste bin.
• Crockery: Broken crockery should be placed in general waste.

D

• Deodorant cans: See aerosols.
• Drink cartons: See cartons.

E

• Electronics: See WEEE pages for more information on collections.
• Envelopes: Paper envelopes can be placed in mixed recycling. Padded envelopes should be placed in general waste

• Fabric: See clothes/textiles.
• Food cans: See cans.
• Food cartons: See cartons.
• Food packaging: Soiled food packaging should be placed in general waste.
• Food waste: Food waste is segregated from our catering operations, which is sent for anaerobic digestion. Where food waste bins are available, any food waste should be removed from packaging and placed in these bins. Food waste caddies are now available in most buildings. Food waste accepted includes plate scrapings, peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds, fruit & vegetables, meat and fish (both cooked and uncooked, including bones), dairy products (no liquids), eggs, bread, cakes, pasta and rice.
• Fridges/Freezers: See WEEE pages for more information on collections.
• Furniture: Before disposing of furniture, please consider whether it could be reused. Warp It is an internal reuse platform for King's staff, where members across the university can post and claim furniture and research equipment. For more information, please visit the Warp It pages. To dispose of furniture, please log a request through the Estates & Facilities Service Desk. They will arrange for someone to pick up the furniture and move it to storage in a central location, before it is collected for recycling.

• Gas cylinders: Cylinders that are no longer required should be returned to the supplier. Please refer to the Health & Safety pages for further information.
• Glass: Glass bottles and jars should be placed in glass waste bins where available. If you are planning an event in your office and know there will be a significant amount of glass waste, please get in touch with the Estates & Facilities help desk at ask@kcl.ac.uk to arrange a collection. All colours are accepted, and they are sorted after collection. Where no glass bins are available, glass bottles and jars should be placed in general waste. Glass types not accepted in glass waste bins are window glass, car glass, glass from light bulbs or fluorescent tubes, or any other type of tempered or chemically treated glass.
• Gloves: Uncontaminated plastic and rubber gloves should be placed in general waste. For gloves in labs, please refer to the Health & Safety pages.
• Green waste: Green waste such as flower bouquets and plants should be placed in general waste.

H

• Hazardous waste: For information on hazardous and clinical waste, please refer to the instructions on the Health & Safety pages.

I

• Ink cartridges: See cartridges.

J

• Jars: See glass.

• Laboratory waste: For information on how to dispose of laboratory waste at King’s, please refer to the Health & Safety pages.
• Laminated paper: When paper and cardboard is re-processed at a paper mill, items like laminated paper are counted as contamination due to the plastic used. Therefore laminated paper should be place in general waste.
• Lamps: See WEEE pages for more information on collections.

M

• Magazines: Magazines are recyclable paper and should be placed in mixed recycling.
• Metal: See cans.
• Monitors: See WEEE pages for more information on collections.

N

• Nappies: Where available, nappies should be placed in nappy bins near changing facilities or sanitary bins. Please do not dispose of nappies in recycling bins.
• Newspapers: Newspapers are recyclable paper and should be placed in mixed recycling.

O

• Office paper: White office paper should be placed in mixed recycling.

• Paper: Paper should go in mixed recycling bins or specific paper bins if available. This includes newspapers, magazines, office paper, paper bags etc., but not paper towels.
• Paper clips: Paper clips can be placed in mixed recycling.
• Paper towels/napkins: These cannot be recycled and should therefore be placed in general waste.
• Phones: See WEEE pages for more information on collections.
• Plastic: Plastic bottles (including the lid), cups, tubs and trays should be disposed of in mixed recycling bins. This includes empty cleaning product bottles as well as shampoo bottles. Hard plastics, such as toys or food crates are not recyclable, and should therefore be placed in general waste.
• Plastic bags: Plastic bags should be placed in mixed recycling.
• Polystyrene: Polystyrene cannot be recycled and should be disposed of in general waste bins. This includes cups, food trays and packaging. Polystyrene is used in packaging many products, particularly in our labs, and is a priority area for us to work on finding a solution to.
• Printer cartridges: See cartridges.

• Sandwich boxes: Sandwich boxes should not be placed in mixed recycling as they are composite materials and usually contaminated with food. Please place them in general waste.
• Sanitary waste: Please use the sanitary bins available in toilets.
• Screens: See WEEE pages for more information on collections.
• Shrink wrap: Shrink wrap should be placed in mixed recycling.
• Small electrical appliances: See WEEE pages for more information on collections.
• Staples: Staples do not need to be removed from paper and are recyclable through mixed recycling.
• Steel cans: See cans.
• Sweet wrappers: Most sweet wrappers are made from non-recyclable material and should be place in general waste.

T

• Tea bags: Where available tea bags should be placed in food waste bins. If no food waste bins are available, please place tea bags in general waste.
• Tetra paks: See cartons.
• Tin foil: Tin foil should be placed in general waste.
• Toner cartridges: See cartridges.

W

• WEEE waste (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment): Please do not place WEEE waste in general waste or recycling bins. For information on how to dispose of electrical and electronic items at King’s, please visit the WEEE pages.