For details of the regular kerbside recycling collection (plastic, bottles, card, green waste & food waste) from St Albans District Council see their website.  You can also leave small electricals, household batteries and old textiles in a plastic bag next to the bins for collection.

Textiles can also be deposited at the collections bins in the Bowers Way East car park, and the Salvation Army have collection points at their hall on Leyton Green and in the Co-op car park in Southdown.

A large selection of items can be recycled at the Recycling Centre in Dark Lane. You can use this useful "Where can I recycle?" guide from the County Council to check for specific types of items.

Plastic carrier bags and other flexible plastic wrapping such as bread packets, crisp and sweet packets, fruit & vegetable wrappers can  be deposited in the collection bins in the Waitrose car park, inside M&S by the Order Collection Point, and at the Co-op in Southdown. Sainsburys also have a collection point located inside the store and will take a wide range of items, which you can find listed here.

Tetrapak cartons can be recycled at the Dark Lane recycling centre. 

Brita filters can be deposited in the designated box in Sainsburys.

Batteries can also be recycled at the collection points in Sainsburys, Waitrose, WH Smith, Co-op, M&S and Tesco Express.

Wayside Dental and Harpenden Dental Centre collect dental products for recycling.

Crabtree Schools have a collection point located at the school gate for recycling any brand of baby food pouches and Ella’s Kitchen’s snack wrappers,

A local lady collects certain types of crisp, confectionary, biscuit, cheese and coffee packets for recycling.  Her address can be found on the TerraCycle website.  See the link for details. 

Blister/Pill packs can be taken to Superdrug in Hemel Hempstead or Stevenage.

For printer cartridges there is a company based in Harpenden that has a freepost address you can send them to. Local schools also often run schemes where they can get money for returning cartridges for recycling.

There is a collection point for pens, pencils and other writing instruments in Rothamsted Research Cafe.

Boots have a recycling scheme for cosmetics and healthcare product packaging that can be difficult to recycle and is not accepted elsewhere.  It requires registration and use of an app to scan the items you are depositing. After depositing you will be rewarded with Advantage Points. Read more about the scheme here.

We have plenty of charity shops who will take good quality clothes, toys, books, bric-a-brac and furniture:
Oxfam Shop & Bookstore, 3 & 5 Harding Parade, Station Road, AL5 4SW
Age UK, 6 Harding Parade, Station Road, AL5 4SW
Cancer Research UK, 15 High Street, AL5 2RT
Rennie Grove Hospice, 51 High Street, AL5 2SL and 4B Piggottshill Lane, AL5 1LH
Keech Hospice Shop, 12-13 Bowers Parade, High Street, AL5 2SH
Blue Cross, 60 High Street, AL5 2SP
Mencap, 4 Grove Road, AL5 1PX
Sue Ryder, Harpenden Recycling Centre, Dark Lane, AL5 1QB

You can also recycle children's toys and equipment via the YoungPlanet app, which has recently launched in the area.

And there is a Harpenden Facebook group dedicated to keeping items out of landfill - Harpenden Reuse Movement

For other specific recycling collections outside of Harpenden have a look at the Terracycle website. 

Do you know of any other recycling facilities in Harpenden that we can add to this list?  Let us know!