The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham today unveils its innovative project created to encourage more than 90,000 households to recycle small electrical items safely.
From today, dedicated striking pink electrical recycling bins will be delivered to residents at select estates across the borough, allowing them to recycle electricals easily and flexibly. Find out the locations of the recycling bins here: https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/recycling-and-rubbish/recycling-elsewhere/small-electrical-items.
The new small electrical recycling bins will be delivered and installed by Veolia, Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s recycling and waste collections partner, who already deliver essential collection and street cleansing services in the borough. Alongside this, a monthly Mobile Recycling Centre will be launched to collect electricals for recycling where bins aren’t able to be installed due to space constraints. This will provide all residents across the borough with more opportunities to recycle items they currently can’t through their normal collection service.
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 £42,900 to support this project. Hammersmith & Fulham are joining other projects around the country in making it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals.
Ahead of today, residents living in estates with dedicated bin stores will either receive small electrical recycling collection bins, or will begin to receive notification of when the new service will arrive. Residents in other estates that can’t have the dedicated bins will soon be provided with a timetable detailing when and where to expect the Mobile Recycling Centre and how to make use of it.
The Mobile Recycling Centre will also make regular visits to schools to encourage the next generation on good waste practices and support schools and parents with recycling any small electrical with a plug, cable or battery.
The new Mobile Recycling Centre will collect small electricals including batteries, vapes and textiles, fulfilling the role of a traditional Household Reuse and Recycling Centre and providing a chance for these items to be reused, repaired or recycled.
Residents will be made aware of how and where they can recycle their electricals through information on leaflets and on eye-catching posters featuring HypnoCat. Keep an eye out for HypnoCat, the Recycle Your Electricals mesmerising pink, fluffy mascot, who is on a mission to hypnotise local residents into recycling their electricals.
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 over 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. On average there are at least 30 electricals hidden away in drawers in UK homes, a total of 880 million items across the UK – with a simple repair many could be donated or sold to people who could put them to good use. And yet 39% of people bin electricals, rather than recycle or reuse them leading to over 100,000 tonnes of electricals thrown away every year. The aim of these projects is to overcome these issues by making it easier to repair, donate or recycle electricals.
“We are pleased to support Hammersmith & Fulham in addressing 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.”
Scott Edgell, General Manager for South London, Veolia, said : “We’re proud to be delivering innovative recycling solutions for residents in Hammersmith & Fulham. Electrical items are highly flammable and can cause fires, so by using new electrical recycling points, residents can do their bit to help the environment whilst protecting the people who collect and treat their recycling and waste.”
