West Lindsey News - West Lindsey District Council

Recycling is WEEEly easy
T
o mark the opening of ‘The
Rasens’ Household Waste
Recycling Centre (see
back page) we’re encouraging
householders to recycle small
electrical items at their local
household waste recycling centre
instead of throwing them away.
According to the latest figures, 154
million items of small waste electronic
and electrical equipment (WEEE)
such as electric toothbrushes,
toasters and mobile phones were
bought in the UK last year, equating
to around 22kgs per household, but
only around 14% were recycled.
Research suggests a common
reason for this is because people
tend to recycle old large electrical
items such as fridges and washing
machines when buying replacements,
but for smaller items, like kettles,
cameras and toasters, one-third
(34%) say they throw them out with
the household rubbish.
In fact it is estimated that over
100 tonnes of WEEE still end up in
household bins in West Lindsey every
year. In addition, many householders
put off throwing away their WEEE
because they are unsure of what to
do with it.
Small electricals such as old
kettles and mobile phones may not
be top of the spring cleaning list,
but research shows on average we
all have at least three unwanted
electronic items cluttering up the
home – and that’s before digging
around in the cupboards.
However, householders can
recycle their waste electricals all
year round at HWRCs in Lincolnshire
and the facilities in North Lincs also
accept small WEEE for recycling. See
www.west-lindsey.gov.uk/HWRC for
a full list of sites and opening times.
Or you can find your nearest drop off
point using our postcode locator at
www.dontbinitbringit.org.
Alternatively, if the item is in
working order a charity may be able
to sell it and raise money for a good
cause. Some, such as the British
Heart Foundation, even offer a free
collection service, for more details
see www.west-lindsey.gov.uk/
charityshops.
Identifying which small electrical
and electronic items can be recycled
is simple. If it has a mains cable, or
uses replaceable batteries, or needs
charging, or has the crossed-out
wheelie bin logo on it, it can be taken
to a HWRC.
Examples include hairdryers,
curling tongs, food mixers, lamps,
batteries, energy saving light bulbs
and fluorescent tubes.
Old gadgets new homes
A
re you considering springcleaning
your home but
dreading the waste and hassle
involved in clearing out your attic
or garage?
What if you could find someone
willing to take those old appliances,
gadgets and off-cuts away and give
them a new lease of life, all at the
click of a mouse?
Online swap-shop www.
dontdumpthat.com saves valuable
resources by offering a quick and
easy way for people to give away
unwanted possessions or search for
something they could put to good use.
The Lincolnshire-based online
forum is just one of a growing number
in the district dedicated to preventing
waste; it’s also a notion we should
all consider before we bin anything,
suggests West Lindsey’s Recycling.
Team Leader Steve Leary.
“Recycling breaks things down
to manufacture new products.
Our kerbside collection scheme
and growing number of Household
Waste Recycling Centres are
designed to make it as easy
as possible for residents to do
their bit – but if there’s still life
in an item, it should be re-used.
This reduces landfill and processing
costs.”
It’s estimated that £5.6bn pounds
worth of good quality usable
household items are thrown away in
the UK every year.
One man’s junk is another man’s
treasure as the saying goes!
Tips for de-cluttering
Log on at:
www.dontdumpthat.org.uk
www.freecycle.org
www.freegle.org.uk
Join the forums and submit any
item that could be re-used
Don’t be afraid to submit broken
items – somebody might know
how to fix it.
Think about charity shops
and advertising in your local
newspaper.
West Lindsey News 23