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Hazardous household waste

Hazardous waste is material that poses potential threats to public health or the environment. It can be chemicals, asbestos or poisons.

The hazardous household waste collection is operated by the City of London on behalf of London Borough of Islington. 

What hazardous household waste items do we collect?

The hazardous household waste collection is operated by the City of London on behalf of London Borough of Islington. The service collects

  • Chemical waste
  • Asbestos
  • Paint

Before booking an chemical waste, paint or asbestos collection, please visit the City of London website for details on how to present your hazardous waste and asbestos for collection and allowable volumes. 

What hazardous household waste items do we NOT collect?

  • Explosives
  • Nerve Gas
  • Polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs)
  • Pressurised vessels (including gas cylinders and cartridges)
  • Radioactive waste, including low level radioactive materials (such as Uranyl acetate/nitrate)
  • Clinical waste including biological specimens
  • Flammable filmstock (cellulose acetate)

How much will we collect?

For chemicals and paint, residents are entitled to a collection of up to 50 litres in total. Each container must weigh no more than 25kg each and/or contain no more than 25l. We can provide up to a maximum of 3 collections per household in a rolling year. Only one collection can be booked in a month. The service is provided free of charge.

For asbestos, residents can have one asbestos collection per rolling year (15 sq. metres or 7 bags free of charge). If the volume exceeds this amount, it will be subject to payment.

How to book a collection?

Visit City of London website to log a collection or call 0207 332 3433 between 8am and 5pm.

Asbestos collection point at the Hornsey Street Reuse and Recycling Centre (RRC)

Residents can dispose of cement bonded asbestos at the RRC for disposal in deep landfill. You must pre-book with the site if you are planning to drop off asbestos. Please call 020 8884 5645 to make an appointment. 

Site staff will need to:

- Check that there is enough space in the asbestos container

- Know how much asbestos you need to dispose of

Before taking the asbestos waste to the RRC, please ensure that it is double wrapped in thick polythene sheeting and fully sealed with strong tape, or alternatively that smaller pieces are sealed in thick plastic sacks. You should take care not to break any material into pieces to fit into a bag. Under no circumstances should you use a saw or disc cutter to reduce the size of the sheets as this will generate asbestos dust.

For how to find the RRC and for more information on the site, please the Reuse and Recycling centre page.