piles of bricks

What to do with building materials?

03 Nov 21

Building work on your home and garden can create a lot of waste. It can be difficult to know what to do with it, especially if you’re DIY-ing. Read on to find out more.

Household recycling collection

Bricks, building rubble, plasterboard and wood are not collected as part of your local council’s household recycling scheme.

not currently recycled

Household waste recycling centre (HWRC)

If you are unable to find anyone who would find your building materials useful, you can get rid of most of your building waste at your local recycling centre. There are restrictions on how plasterboard is disposed of and this does vary across the country - so check with your council first.

You will need to provide your own transport. Contact the recycling centre to find out the opening hours which can vary for cars and vans.

If you are taking the building rubble in a van, check with the recycling centre whether you need any permission or ID to do so.

Recycling facilities exist

What can you do?

  1. Ask family and friends if they need them for any building projects they have planned.

  2. Check locally - a community project near you may have a use for your building bits and pieces.

  3. Advertise in local papers, shop windows or on community noticeboards.

  4. Arrange for a skip to be delivered to your home to dispose of your building materials by a waste disposal company.

Recycling is constantly evolving and changing so check back for updates or try our recycling locator to find out what you can recycle at home and where you can recycle or pass on unwanted items in your local area.