Over 40 projects across the UK have been allocated £1.8 million by Material Focus to make it easier for 10 million residents to recycle their electricals in a bid to reduce e-waste.
These e-waste projects will provide a variety of recycling methods, from kerbside collections to more drop-off points in schools, community centres, and on-street bring banks. Overall, there will be over 400 new collection points plus kerbside collections for 5.5 million UK residents.
Materials Focus executive director Scott Butler said: “We are thrilled to support these innovative projects that address the pressing issue of e-waste.”
“By investing in improved drop-off options services and exploring new ways of collecting electricals, 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,” he added.
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Material Focus 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 consumers have unwanted electricals to get rid of, even if it’s just a drawer of cables – millions of electrical items are hoarded in UK homes.
However, 39% of people bin electricals rather than recycle them and say that they think it’s too hard to recycle.
Solihull Council in partnership with Veolia will be using the grant to provide a bookable kerbside collection service which will be available to over 215,000 residents in the Solihull area, making it convenient for them to responsibly dispose of their small electrical items and reduce e-waste in the community.
“It’s great that our residents will soon be able to get rid of their small electrical goods in a responsible and environmentally friendly way,” said Solihull councillor Ken Hawkins.
“Recycling and reusing materials is key to creating a circular economy where we reduce the need for ‘new’ resources by reusing old ones,” he added.
