Small Electricals Recycling Collection Project, for Barking and Dagenham Council, today unveils its plans for the collection of small electrical items for recycling, from Community Hubs and other designated locations across the borough. The project launches with the hope that 160,000 residents in the local community will get behind its drive to recycle their electricals.
Additionally, a repair centre will operate at Barking Learning Centre for locals who can bring along their faulty electrical items for repair of minor faults, free of charge. Residents can also donate these items, and once repaired, they will be reused in the community. The centre will operate with the help of local volunteers.
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 £50,000 to support this project. The Small Electricals Recycling Collection Project, for Barking and Dagenham, are joining other projects around the country in making it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals.
Small electrical recycling collection containers have been installed at numerous locations across the area, offering locals easy recycling access. The recycle locations are Barking Learning Centre, Dagenham Library, Marks Gate Community Centre, Thames View Community Centre, Valence Library, Barking and Dagenham College, Company Drinks Outdoor Bowls Pavilion and Chadwell Heath Community Centre.
The project aims to collect 10 tonnes of small electrical items via the collection points. All small electricals recycled at the collection points will be collected and transferred to Frizlands Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre (RRC) in Dagenham.
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 the Small Electricals Recycling Collection Project for Barking and Dagenham 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.”
Councillor Kashif Haroon, Cabinet Member for Public Realm and Climate Change at Barking and Dagenham Council said, “One of our key priorities is reducing our impact on the environment and this scheme contributes to our commitment to helping residents reduce their waste. We hope this scheme will prolong the life of some electricals and provide easier access to recycling any of those that have reached their end of life.”
