Councillors to discuss plans to expand recycling points around the city

We’re proposing to expand provision at recycling points across Brighton & Hove. 

Councillors will discuss the proposals at the City Environment, South Downs & The Sea Committee on Tuesday 14 November. 

The proposals recommend rolling out 55 new recycling bins for food and drink cartons (such as Tetra Pak) and 21 new waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) containers throughout the city.

Recycling points in Brighton & Hove

There are 87 recycling points in Brighton & Hove that can accept items that we can’t collect in kerbside or communal collections, including textiles, cartons and small electrical items.

There are also large bins for cardboard, paper, plastic bottles, tins and cans and aerosols, and separate containers for glass bottles and jars. These are ideal for things like large cardboard boxes that won’t fit in kerbside recycling bins and boxes.

More opportunities to recycle 

Currently, residents can recycle cartons at 21 recycling points and small electrical items at only 2 of our 87 recycling points. 

Data suggests that approximately 2.68 tonnes of cartons and 2.16 tonnes of electrical items are placed in refuse and recycling bins each year.

We’re proposing to provide more recycling points for these materials so that we’re able to recycle items that might otherwise be disposed of as household waste.

Recycling electrical items

If approved, we’ll roll out 21 new containers to recycle small electrical items across the city, bringing our total up to 23. 

Each ward in Brighton & Hove will have a dedicated recycling point to safely recycle laptops, mobile phones, kettles, hairdryers and other small electrical items. 

Electrical items contain many materials that can easily be reused, so we don’t want these being disposed of in household waste.

Many household electrical items, including game consoles and mobile phones, contain a hidden lithium battery that can explode and cause a fire if disposed of in household waste or recycling. 

This issue has caused numerous fires in trucks and waste facilities in Brighton & Hove, and around the UK.

In 2022, a fire caused £62,000 worth of damage to a collection vehicle which resulted in significant service disruption. 

Making it easier for residents to recycle

Councillor Tim Rowkins, Chair of the City Environment, South Downs & The Sea Committee, said:

“Improving our recycling is a top priority. At our last committee meeting, we approved the addition of metal lids into our glass collections, and we’re now seeking to expand opportunities for recycling items that aren’t currently accepted in kerbside and communal collections.

“We often see food and drink cartons placed in household recycling, but these need to be collected and processed separately. Consequently, they contaminate mixed recycling collections and end up being treated as general waste. We’re introducing 55 new bins for these cartons at our recycling points around the city to enable many more of these items to be recycled.

“Electrical items contain a lot of reusable materials. I recently visited Light Brothers in Lewes, who will be processing the electrical items we collect. Constituent materials are separated using a variety of methods and can then go on to be used in future products.

“Batteries are also removed and processed safely, with material including lithium being reusable.

“Electrical items should never be thrown away but there are currently very few places where residents can recycle them. Our proposals will mean all residents in the city will have a waste electricals bin close by to safely recycle their electrical items.”

Read the 14 November City Environment, South Downs & The Sea Committee Improving recycling points report (agenda item 29).

Find your nearest recycling points and what you can recycle there.