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Monday, February 10, 2025

How visitors to Nottingham’s Victoria Centre can give unwanted electrical appliances a new lease of life

Over a third of UK households hold onto at least one redundant small electrical appliance that has the potential to be recycled.

That’s a staggering 418,107 small appliances – that either definitely no longer work or the owner doesn’t know if they work in the Nottingham area alone.

On International E-Waste Day, Friday 14th October 2022, Recycle Your Electricals is urging the people of Nottingham to tackle this e-waste challenge by decluttering their homes of these end of life electricals, bagging them up and bringing them for free recycling at Victoria Centre.

In an ideal world, every hair appliance, toaster, food blender or kettle would be used for as long as it was needed, with safely working products getting the chance of a new life with another owner.

Once a product is no longer working it should then be given a new lease of life through an official recycling system.

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This would allow precious materials to be recovered from these appliances, which can then be made into new products, while reducing the need to mine for virgin materials.

The stark reality is that many small electricals end up hoarded away in our homes, out of sight and mind and their precious materials lost or worse still, discarded in the household waste bin and not being recycled.

This year, International E-Waste Day is focussed on those small electrical appliances that we no longer use but keep in drawers or cupboards under the slogan “Recycle it all no matter how small”.

According to UK research commissioned by REPIC for International E-Waste Day, UK households are holding on to more IT equipment than any other small appliances and gadgets.

A staggering 11.7 million laptops that either definitely no longer work or the owner doesn’t know if they work and 9.2 million Tablets, both featured in in the five most hoarded items in first and third place respectively.

Completing the top five most hoarded items, not in working condition or known working condition, headphones, USB sticks and kettles – which all have the potential to be recycled and contain valuable precious materials such as gold, platinum, copper, and other high-value recoverable materials.

The people of Nottingham are being encouraged to look for any small electrical appliances that are no longer working or in use and take advantage of a temporary collection point that is being established for International E-Waste Day. Victoria Centre, Nottingham will be hosting this free e-waste collection point from Friday 14th to Friday 21st October.

Opening on Friday 14th October, to coincide with International E-Waste Day and available throughout the UK’s Recycle Week (17th – 23rd October), visitors to Victoria Centre will be able to bring along their unwanted household small electricals and drop them off at the centre’s collection box near Tesco for reuse and recycling.

· Large Household Appliances, e.g., Washing machines, electric heating appliances, cookers, televisions and fridge or freezers
· Gas Discharge Lamps, fluorescent lighting, LED lighting
· Loose Batteries
· NON-WEEE Items e.g., Packaging, furniture, building waste, general waste

Nigel Wheatley, Centre Director at Victoria Centre, comments: “E-waste is a big issue and we’re delighted to partner with Recycle Your Electricals to bring the free collection point to our centre for Recycle Week.

International E-Waste Day is an annual awareness day operated by the WEEE Forum to raise the public profile of e-waste recycling and encourages consumers to recycle their unwanted or end of life electricals. This year, the main focus of International E-Waste Day is on those small electrical appliances that we no longer use but keep in drawers or cupboards under the slogan “Recycle it all no matter how small”.

“We’ve all got those items sat at the back of a cupboard or in the garage that we never get round to doing anything with – but now is your chance. If you’re visiting us during Recycling Week, pop your old small electrical item in your shopping bag and drop it at the collection point. Recycle Your Electricals will do the rest.

“Not only can you make some space at home but you’ll also be doing your bit by helping to provide plastics and metals for new items like bikes, children’s play items and even lifesaving equipment.”

Items that can be dropped at the collection point at Victoria Centre:

YES PLEASE

· Small Household Appliances, e.g., Kettles, irons, toasters, personal grooming products such as electric toothbrushes and shavers, hairdryers and straighteners
· IT and Telecommunications Equipment, e.g., PC’s, Laptops, Mice, keyboard, printers/scanners and shredders
· Consumer Equipment e.g., Radios, DVD players, Hifi Systems, musical instruments and cameras
· Electrical and Electronic Tools, e.g. Sewing machines, electric drills and electrical screwdrivers and small electrical gardening tools
· Toys, Leisure and Sports Equipment, e.g., Video games, pedometers, computers and torches

NO THANKS

Please remember to:

● Bring all items with their cables and plugs
● If batteries are removable, please take these out prior to disposal and recycle separately
● Remove any packaging and take items out of bags prior to depositing

International E-Waste Day

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The producer responsibility organisations that are members of the WEEE Forum, manage the collection of e-waste and are constantly working to make the proper disposal of small e-waste simple and convenient for consumers. REPIC, a UK member of the WEEE Forum and leading UK producer responsibility scheme for waste electricals, is heading the UK charge and has for the first time engaged the support of the UK’s dedicated WEEE awareness campaign, Recycle Your Electricals to offer a consistent voice and branded message to consumers about the responsible recycling of unwanted electricals.

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