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Electrical recycling up in a flash
Posted on 06/06/2009
Highways, Transportation & Waste Management
The number of old electrical items being recycled in Leicestershire has rocketed by a massive 50%, thanks to a new campaign.
In March, the County Council urged residents to take small unwanted products such as toasters and kettles to one of the County's 14 recycling and household waste sites.
In April, over 200 tonnes of electrical products were collected - that's the equivalent of 27 double-decker buses and a huge 50% increase on the previous month.
Many people say they recycle mobile phones, televisions, computers and vacuum cleaners but items such as electric toothbrushes, hairdryers, electronic toys and hegde-clippers were rarely recycled and often end up being thrown out with the household rubbish.
154 million small electrical products were bought in the UK in the last year alone, weighing a staggering 551,000 tonnes in total or 22kgs per household but only around 10% of this was recycled.
The County Council teamed up with Recycle Now on the 'don't bin it, bring it' campaign which included a poster and leaflet campaign, a dedicated website and roadshows across the county.
Electrical retailers are also obliged to offer help and advice and many provide recycling take back services.
Derek Goodenough, the County Council's Waste Disposal and Treatment Manager, said: "This campaign is a way of reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill and we'd like to thank residents for their hard work and encourage them to keep on recycling.”
Electrical items that use disposable batteries, have a mains cable or need recharging can all be recycled.
The raw materials can then be put to new uses - for instance, a typical iron contains enough steel to make 13 food cans.
The final ‘Don’t bin it bring it’ roadshow is taking place between 10am and 3pm in:
Charnwood - Loughborough Market - Thursday, 11th June
There are 14 dedicated facilities for collecting waste electrical goods.
Residents can find their nearest drop-off point using the postcode locator at www.dontbinitbringit.org
For more information, or to find the nearest recycling and household waste site, visit www.leics.gov.uk/waste or call 0116 305 0001.
Notes:
Small electricals can be dismantled into raw materials and put to new uses - a typical iron contains enough steel to make 13 food cans and plastic recycled from small household appliances such as kettles or irons can be re-used in new items such as games consoles or hairdryers.
Between April and December last year, families in Leicestershire recycled 1,054 tonnes of electrical waste – that’s the equivalent of three irons per household.