Mid Devon residents have been able to recycle small electricals at the kerbside since September 2020.
The service is carried out in-house by crews already out collecting other recyclable materials.
On 14 April, the council called on more residents to recycle their electricals in a bid to reach 59 tonnes by September 2022.
Mid Devon says it has teamed up with Material Focus, the not-for-profit organisation funded by the WEEE compliance fee, to raise awareness of its collection service as part of the national Recycle Your Electricals Campaign.
Luke Howard, Mid Devon district council’s environment and enforcement manager, said: “I am thrilled to see that the residents of Mid Devon have been making full use of the kerbside small electrical recycling service.
“I would like to thank all the residents that have been using this service as it has a positive impact on our environment as the precious materials used within these products can be reused in new products.”
‘Vital’
Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, said Mid Devon’s project was “vital to ensuring that we make good use of our old electricals”.
We are delighted to be working with Mid Devon
– Scott Butler, Material Focus
He said: “Whether they are re-used or recycled, these items contain valuable materials that will otherwise be lost forever.
“Our research has shown that in the UK we are hoarding over 527 million small electrical items, an average of 20 per household, which is why we have launched the Recycle Your Electricals campaign.
“We are delighted to be working with Mid Devon, who are one of a number of projects that we are funding in the UK.”
Mid Devon
To recycle small electrical items via Mid Devon’s kerbside collection service, residents place items no bigger than a standard sized carrier bag in a green recycling box. If there is not enough space, items can be placed alongside their boxes.
Residents must remove any batteries any place them in a separate black recycling box.
Mid Devon told letsrecycle.com the small electrical items were recycled within the UK, where they are shredded and separated into different components before being turned into new products.
However, the council said the identity of the company which carried out the recycling was “commercially sensitive information”.
Despite encouraging residents to recycle their unwanted small electricals, the council said people with a large number of items should recycle “little and often” as the service is “extremely popular” and there is a limited amount of space available on board collection vehicles.
Representing an estimated population of more than 80,000, Mid Devon district council had a household waste recycling rate of 53.7% in the 2020/21 financial year.
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