Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycles nearly two tonnes of small electricals in first two weeks

Residents in Rushcliffe have been praised for recycling nearly two tonnes of small electricals in just two weeks.

Rushcliffe Borough Council’s (RBC) is one of the few local authorities in the county to currently offer Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) kerbside recycling of small electrical items, which can be placed on the top of their blue bins that otherwise may end up being disposed of in the grey waste bin.

Rob Inglis, RBC’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment and Safety praised resident’s efforts.

He said: “A huge thank you to residents for embracing this new service as we collected 1.8 tonnes of items in just the first 10 days of collections!

“You are responding brilliantly as hundreds of smaller electrical items are now being recycled week in week out and you are playing your part to ensure we can responsibly recycle items that can contain rare and valuable raw materials.

“We wanted to ensure ever more items can be recycled, helping our Environment priority as a Council and our Carbon Clever values.

The following items can be placed on top of the blue bin:

- Kettles

- Toasters

- Irons

- Lamps (with bulb removed)

- Hairdryers

- Straighteners

- Hair clippers

- Shavers

- Electric toothbrushes

- Games consoles

- Digital clocks

- Digital watches

- Remote controls

- Torches

- Calculators

- Laptops and tablets

- Cameras and camera chargers

- Mobile phones

- Radios

The Council’s waste teams collect the items at the same time or on the same day as the blue bin collection and they are recycled at local contractors where other blue bin waste is sorted.

Residents are advised to fully wipe and remove any data cards from laptops, tablets, cameras or phones before being left on a bin to be recycled.

For larger electrical items including microwaves, fridges and freezers please either book a bulky waste collection at www.rushcliffe.gov.uk or take them to one of Nottinghamshire’s 12 recycling centres where they will be separated for recycling.

Items with built-in batteries do not need to be removed before recycling and removable batteries such as AAA, AA and 9V are as ever requested to be left in a separate bag on the top of any coloured bin.

Mr Inglis added: “Please remember to place the small items on top of the blue bin and never in the bin under any circumstances.

“Kerbside glass and food waste collections are still among the priorities for bin changes for residents and we will be introducing these in line with the national changes in the coming years.”