Get plugged into recycling
Do you have any small electrical items that no longer work or that you don’t want any more?
If they can’t be repaired or reused, it’s easy to recycle them separately at one of 19 of our 80 recycling points around the city, or at one of the two household waste recycling sites.
Find your nearest recycling point on our website.
Recycle anything with a plug, battery or cable
Residents in Brighton & Hove can recycle anything with a plug, battery or cable in the bins with pink lids, including cables, chargers, mobile phones and laptops, toasters, kettles and electric toothbrushes.
Councillor Tim Rowkins, Cabinet member for Net Zero and Environmental Services, said: “Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is now the UK’s fastest growing waste stream, but there are lots of options to reuse or recycle – including donating to your local charity shop, offering them online or mending them at a repair café. If they can’t be reused, please recycle them.”
Recycling cuts waste and re-uses resources
Figures released in 2024 revealed that in the UK 2 million people throw away a small electrical appliance each year.
This wastes valuable resources, as anything that has a cable or runs off batteries will contain raw materials such as copper that can be used again.
Tips for recycling electricals
Batteries and vapes can catch fire, so it’s particularly important to make sure they don’t end up in general waste, recycling or litter bins.
Take out any removable batteries and recycle at various retailers.
Take your vapes back to retailers for recycling or to your nearest household waste recycling site.
If you’re recycling lamps, please take out the bulbs first. These can be recycled at the household waste recycling sites, or at some retailers such as DIY stores, larger supermarkets and Robert Dyas.
Find your nearest household waste recycling site, opening times and what you can recycle there.
Find more information about recycling small electricals on our website.
Council plan
As part of our goal to provide a clean and sustainable city, we are focused on minimising waste and providing a reliable and easy to use recycling service. This includes more facilities, different colour bin lids and improved information.
