Information on Loughborough

Recycle small electricals to win big prizes

Posted on 30/06/2009

Leicestershire Councty Council Highways, Transportation & Waste Management

29 June 2009

Recycle small electricals to win big prizes

Wind-up torches and holiday vouchers are up for grabs in a new competition aimed at boosting recycling.

From Wednesday (1st July), every resident taking a small electrical item to one of the County Council's 14 recycling and household waste sites will be given a scratchcard.

This will run until 31st July or until stocks of scratchcards last and people could win a £200 holiday voucher or other prizes including wind-up torches and eco-friendly re-usable bags, all courtesy of Repic.

The number of electrical products being recycled in Leicestershire has rocketed since the County Council launched a campaign in March urging residents to recycle small unwanted products such as toasters and kettles.

In April, over 200 tonnes were collected - that's the equivalent of 27 double-decker buses and a huge 50% increase on the previous month.

Electrical items taken to the County Council's sites are separated for recycling - a typical iron contains enough steel to make 13 food cans and plastic recycled from small household appliances such as a kettle can be re-used in games consoles or hairdryers.

Tony Kershaw, Cabinet Member for Waste, said: "This innovative competition is a great way of encouraging residents to recycle old electrical appliances such as toasters and kettles.

"People are already bringing more items to their local sites and we'd like to thank them 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.

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:

This promotion is sponsored by Repic (Recycling Electrical Producers Industry Consortium). Repic is a not-for-profit company established in 2004 to meet the requirements of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive.  

Repic is approved by the Environment Agency as a ‘producer compliance scheme’ for the collection and recycling of electrical items. The company collects and recycles electrical waste on behalf of Leicestershire County Council.