Unwanted electricals are the fastest growing waste stream in the UK. From games consoles, mobile phones and laptops to, cables, leads and headphones, these old devices could have a second life. If broken they can still be recycled and stripped for valuable parts, even small devices can contain precious material such as copper, lithium and stainless steel to help reduce the impact of e-waste.
The campaign – Recycle your Electricals
Recycle Your Electricals is a UK-wide campaign with one mission – to get people reusing and recycling their old, unwanted electricals. The campaign is led by Material Focus, an independent not-for-profit organisation.
“Anything with a plug, battery or cable can be reused or recycled”
Since launching in early 2020, Recycle Your Electricals have been busy encouraging millions of families to recycle their unwanted electricals, awarding grants and loans to help support recycling charities and plants during the Covid-19 lockdown, and working with local communities to make reuse and recycling easier for everyone.
Along with Hypnocat, the campaign’s hilarious pink furred, blue-eyed mascot, people across the UK are making this campaign happen: public, charities, local authorities, recycling plants, electrical producers, retailers, celebrities … and you.
Recycle Your Electricals is all about making it easier for you to do the right thing – and feel the reward. Whether that’s less clutter at home, knowing that you’re helping the planet, saving valuable resources or donating your working devices to someone who needs it – it all makes a difference.
How County Durham are supporting the campaign
Durham County Council support the campaign with over 150 recycling points across the county in various public buildings such as leisure centres, libraries and community centres. Any electrical small enough to fit in a carrier bag can be dropped off at one of these locations and your items will be responsibly recycled. You can also now recycle your undamaged e-cigarettes and vape devices at our specialist small drop off points. If the item you are looking to recycle isn’t small enough to fit in a carrier bag, please recycle it at one of our Household Waste Recycling Centres
We also encourage items in good working order to be donated to your local charity, as well as supporting the volunteer ran repair cafés in County Durham. Repair Cafés are free meeting places where visitors bring their broken items from home, then together with ‘fixers’ they try to repair the item.
Touring Repair Café
Do you have any electrical items that you think could be repaired? Why not visit our touring Repair Café, where there will be repair, reuse and recycling points for small electrical items. We’re working with County Durham Furniture Help Scheme who will have experts on hand to take a look at your broken electrical item to see if it can be repaired.
| Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 5 April | 11.00am to 2.00pm | Seaham Library, St John's Square, SR7 7JE |
| Monday 15 April | 9.30am to 11.30am | St Catherine's Church of England Church, North Terrace, Crook, DL15 9AZ |
| Monday 13 May | 10.00am to 12 noon | Barnard Castle Library, Witham Building, Hall Street, Barnard Castle, DL12 8JB |
More information
Find information about recycling collection points, what can be recycled, where to find your local refuse centre, and more about the Repair Café on the Durham County Council weee recycling page. There’s even a chance to win a prize by simply recycling!
