Recycling unwanted electricals

P R E S S   R E L E A S E

30 August 2024

Recycling unwanted electricals

Residents in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham are being urged to support the environment by correctly disposing of unwanted electricals.

E-waste, including everything from smartphones and kitchen appliances to computers and vapes, is one of the fastest growing areas of waste in the UK with the average household estimated to be hiding away 20 unwanted electricals.

Waste experts at the award-winning BDR Waste Partnership, based at Manvers, have put together some useful information to help everyone recycle broken, damaged or unwanted tech gadgets.

Incorrect disposal of electronics means that the valuable, precious metals and materials they contain are lost. These metals can be recycled into new things. By recycling our old electricals, we could cut as much CO2 as taking 3.8 million cars off the road.

Many electricals contain batteries which pose a serious fire risk if incorrectly disposed of. Over the past year, 1,200 fires have been caused by binned batteries. Dead batteries thrown away with other waste and recycling, are likely to be crushed when the waste is collected and processed. Some batteries, such as lithium-ion (Li-ion) can ignite or even explode when they are damaged and this can set fire to other waste like paper, leading to serious incidents and put lives at risk.

Rebecca Wilson is from the Community Education Liaison team based at the BDR Waste Treatment Facility which diverts 97 per cent of Barnsley, Doncaster, and Rotherham general household waste from landfill.

“Instead of disposing of broken and unwanted electricals and batteries with general household waste we would ask residents to recycle them which means they will be disposed of safely and precious materials reclaimed.” said Rebecca.

“If they are still in good working order unwanted gadgets can be donated to friends, family or local re-use projects.”

How to recycle

Recycling electricals in your area:

• If beyond repair, donation, or resale, you can find you nearest recycling point here: www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk
• What items can be recycled? Anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled
• Doncaster residents can put small electricals in a carrier bag next to your blue bin for kerbside collection.
• You can take small electricals to be recycled at your local HWRC.

Recycling e-waste is as easy as ABC (advice from Recycle Your Electricals)

ASK- Does your old electrical contain batteries or bulbs? Remove these before recycling. It’s your responsibility to remove personal data from smart devices and computers, so remember to take out memory cards and delete your data.

BAG- Find a bag that you can use to store all your old electricals until you can go to the recycling centre – or until collection day, if you have one.

CHECK - Check our easy recycling locator to find your nearest repair, reuse, or recycling point. Some councils collect directly from your home. Otherwise keep your electricals in your bag until you can visit a drop-off point.

Note to Editors:  The waste treatment facility at Manvers processes around a quarter of a million tonnes of leftover waste a year from 345,000 homes across Barnsley, Doncaster, and Rotherham, turning it into useful products rather than sending it to landfill.

For further information contact Rebecca Wilson on 01709 761001 or rebecca.wilson@renewi.com.