Last week’s column generated some interesting comments about other ways to recycle.

The British Heart Foundation will collect sofas, suites, armchairs, tables, chairs, desks, cabinets, beds, mattresses and other bedroom furniture, TVs, Hi-Fis, washing machines, small electricals; it will also collect bags of clothes, books, DVDs, toys and more at the same time.

Other charity shops in Wantage and Grove include Helen and Douglas, the British Red Cross, the Shaw Trust, Minds Matter, Save the Children, Changing Lives, Acacia and the African Children’s Fund.

They will all take clean and saleable clothing & shoes; books; children’s toys; homeware; jewellery; accessories; quality linens; small electrical goods in working order; games; CDs and DVDs; and bric-a-brac.

Helen and Douglas can also collect furniture, from sofas to beds which can be sold.

All charities require everything to be in good condition, complete and in working order and with each upholstered piece of furniture having a fire safety label attached.

I mentioned in the previous column that Sustainable Wantage in the Mix, on Mill Street, Wantage would take crisp packets, biscuit wrappers, chocolate bar wrappers, chocolate and sweet bags and multipack outer packaging.

The Vale and Downland Museum can also take crisp packets and used ink cartridges.

The Mix can re-home all kinds of craft resources like fabrics, beads, buttons, ribbon, paper, wool, (a lot of these go to schools, brownie groups, etc.) but they request that you get in touch before taking things in as they have limited space to store things – contact them via wantagemix@gmail.com or pop in to see them.

They also know where you can donate all kinds of things such as old blankets, mascara brushes, tools, etc. so get in touch.

On the first Saturday morning of every month they have volunteer fixers ready to help you repair household and electrical items. As well as welcoming anyone popping in with things for fixing, they collect broken or unwanted electrical items to repair and sell on.

So if you have small electrical items which can’t be given to the charity shop, the Mix may be your next stop.

Fitzwaryn School are doing some up-cycling so could take small items of wooden furniture. Just get in touch with the School office if you can help.

Finally there is www.ilovefreegle.org. There is usually someone who wants any unloved items you want to advertise and will collect it from your home.