Electricals bins get residents switched on to recycling

Recycling small electricals in Brighton & Hove has been turbo-charged since the introduction of small electricals recycling banks.

Following the rollout of 21 recycling banks in May 2024, the council has collected more than 40 tonnes of electrical waste – an average of 2.5 tonnes a month.

Residents are recycling everything from cables and kettles to hairdryers and headphones in the pink bins at recycling points across the city.

Making recycling easier

Councillor Tim Rowkins, Cabinet member for Net Zero and Environmental Services, said: “It’s incredible to see the success of small electricals banks in the city. More than 40 tonnes have been collected and recycled in the past 16 months – that’s several shipping containers’ worth saved from going to waste.

“This is all part of our work to make recycling easier, and expand the materials we collect, including food waste as well as plastic pots, tubs and trays.

“Electrical waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK. For example, more than 7 million mini fans were purchased in the past year due to the hot summer. These and other 'fast-tech' items are either being thrown away or left unused when they could be reused or recycled."

Reuse or recycle your electricals

Today, 14 October, is International E-Waste Day and the council is supporting the national campaign to highlight electrical waste, and to encourage more people to reuse or recycle their electricals.

Any item that has a battery, cable or plug can be recycled. These items contain valuable materials such as copper, which are lost forever when the items are thrown away.

Copper is 100% recyclable and reusing it requires significantly less energy than the amount needed to mine for new materials. It can be reused in a huge range of items, from phones and  electric vehicles to clean energy and medical equipment. 

If you can’t repair or reuse your electrical items, it’s easy to recycle them separately at one of our recycling points around the city, or at one of the two city’s household waste recycling sites.

Find your nearest recycling point on our website.

Remember to take out removable batteries and recycle them at the shops you buy them from.

Do not put vapes in the bins – along with batteries, these are a major cause of fires in vehicles and at waste facilities. These fires cause huge amounts of damage, require costly repairs and endanger staff.

Find your nearest vape or battery recycling point on the Recycle Your Electricals website. Recycle Your Electricals is a UK-wide campaign aimed at making it easier for everyone to reuse and recycle unwanted electricals.

If you’re recycling lamps, take out the bulbs first. Bulbs can be recycled at the household waste recycling sites, or at some retailers such as DIY stores, larger supermarkets and Robert Dyas.

Throughout October, local enterprise Tech-Takeback is also offering a free service to businesses so they can pass on their unwanted tech to support people who are digitally excluded. Find out more about the Tech-Takeback amnesty.

More about International E-Waste Day and the Great Cable Challenge.