Medway Council today unveils its plans for new dedicated recycling bins for small electricals, which will be available in every library across Medway.
The project launched on Wednesday, 1 November, in the hope that residents in the local community will get behind its drive to recycle their electricals. The scheme has been launched to encourage households to recycle small electrical items like kettles, toasters and hairdryers that are normally thrown away.
This is one of over 40 UK projects funded by Material Focus, the not for profit leading the Recycle Your Electricals campaign who have provided £15,000 for Medway Council to install the recycling bins. The innovative project will lead the way in Medway, joining other projects around the country in making it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals.
The new recycling bins will be conveniently located within Medway’s 15 libraries.
The aim of the nationwide Electricals Recycling Fund is to significantly reduce e-waste and its environmental impact by making it easier for consumers to recycle their electricals. The projects that have been funded by Material Focus include a variety of recycling methods, from kerbside collections to more drop-off points in schools, community centres, and bring banks. Overall there will be more than 400 new collection points plus kerbside collections for 5.5 million UK residents.
Recycle Your Electricals research has shown that 80% of consumers believe recycling is a good thing, and many of us already recycle things like paper and plastic. Research has also shown that most of us have unwanted electricals we want to get rid of, even if it’s just a drawer of cables - millions of electrical items are hoarded in UK homes. And yet 39% of people bin electricals rather than recycle them say they think it’s simply too hard to recycle. The aim of these projects is to overcome these issues by making it easier to recycle electricals.
Easy way for residents to recycle
Cllr Simon Curry, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Climate Change, said: “We are delighted to be offering a new, easy way for residents to recycle their unwanted small electricals. This new service will be a huge benefit for residents who don’t drive. Rather than travelling to one of our Household Waste and Recycling Centres, they can simply pop to their local library.”
Creating a more sustainable future
"We are thrilled to support Medway’s project that addresses the pressing issue of e-waste.” said Scott Butler, Executive Director of Material Focus. "By investing in improved collection and drop-off services and exploring new recycling methods, we are taking a significant step towards creating a more sustainable future by making it easier for 10 million more people to recycle their electricals."
To find your nearest recycling point search recycle your electricals.