A pilot scheme has seen more than 500 electrical items collected from outside people’s homes in Great Yarmouth.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council is celebrating the completion of the small electrical waste collection trial, which saw items recycled in both rural and urban areas.
The trial launched in October and focused on the collection of small electrical waste from more than 11,000 homes in four areas in the borough.
Over a two-week period, 554 small electrical items were recycled, weighing in at almost 560 kilograms.
All the items collected kerbside were broken or unused and had been sitting in drawers or cupboards in people’s homes.
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The trial was one of more than 40 projects across the UK funded by Material Focus, the not-for- profit organisation leading the Recycle Your Electricals campaign. It provided the council with £10,000 for the trial.
Great Yarmouth led the way in Norfolk with its trial, joining other projects around the country in making it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle electrical items.
The aim of the nationwide Electricals Recycling Fund is to significantly reduce e-waste and its environmental impact by making it easier for consumers to recycle electricals.
The projects that have been funded by Material Focus include a variety of recycling methods, from kerbside collections to more drop-off points in schools, community centres and ‘bring banks’.
In total, there will be more than 400 new collection points plus kerbside collections for 5.5 million UK households.
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Councillor Paul Wells, the borough council’s portfolio holder for environment and sustainability, waste and licensing, said: “By making it easier for residents to dispose of small electrical waste responsibly, we are taking a significant step towards a cleaner, greener and more sustainable Great Yarmouth."
Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, said: "We were thrilled to support Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s small electrical waste collection pilot which addresses the pressing issue of e-waste."
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