East Suffolk Council
East Suffolk residents urged to recycle their electricals via new kerbside collections trial
East Suffolk Council today unveils its plans for the kerbside collections of small electrical items in East Suffolk. The initial collections will begin later this month with the hope that 120,000 households in the local community will get behind its drive to recycle their electricals.
The new kerbside collections will enable residents to leave small electrical items on top of their wheeled bins on their usual bin collection day and items will then be collected by the refuse crew and taken away for recycling.
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 £60,724 to support this project. East Suffolk Council are joining other projects around the country in making it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals.
Trial electrical kerbside collections will be initially introduced on four collection rounds:
- Covering parts of Lowestoft, Kessingland, Oulton, Pakefield, Carlton Colville, Wrentham and Worlingham in the north.
- Plus Aldeburgh, Leiston, Saxmundham, Rendlesham, Orford, Framlingham, Melton, Woodbridge, Wickham Market, Kesgrave, Felixstowe, Martlesham and Purdis Farm in the south.
- The collections will then be rolled out across the remainder of the district over the next few months.
- By May 2025, all areas of the district will receive these collections.
Electrical collections will take place at the same time as existing household waste or recycling collections. Collected items will be sorted for recycling or where appropriate, given to a local repair shed before selling the items to raise money for charity. Residents can leave up to 2 small electrical items out for collection each week. If the collection basket on the refuse vehicle is full, items may need to be collected the following week.
Residents will be made aware of how and where they can recycle their electricals through information on leaflets and on eye-catching social media 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.
Cllr Sally Nobie, East Suffolk Council’s cabinet member for the Environment said: “Having seen the popularity of the collection banks for small electricals which we previously trialled in some of our towns, we know that residents want to dispose of their electrical items properly and so we are confident people will be keen to make the most of these new kerbside collections. We look forward to seeing the response across the trial areas and then rolling out the programme to the remainder of East Suffolk over the next few months.”
"We are pleased to support East Suffolk Council and the new kerbside collection trial 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."