Ashford taking part in Material Focus Recycle Your Electricals

Ashford Borough Council today unveils its plans for E-Cycle Revival; six community electrical repair, reuse and recycle events across the borough. The first event is on Saturday 14^th October in Wye, Kent, where residents are invited to recycle their electricals. Ashford’s E-Cycle Revival will reduce the number of electricals being thrown away, saving valuable materials and even giving items a new lease of life. The project will also help highlight to residents that all electrical items - anything with a plug, battery or cable - can be recycled and where they can be recycled.

This is one of over 40 UK projects funded by Material Focus, the not for profit leading the Recycle Your Electricals campaign, who have provided a £9,000 grant for the E-Cycle Revival. The E-Cycle Revival will lead the way in Ashford, joining other projects around the country in making it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals. Ashford Borough Council are hosting six events throughout the rural areas of the borough where residents will be able to either bring their old electrical items for recycling, get suitable electrical items repaired by the local repair café or donate items working, but unwanted to a local charity, Pilgrims Hospices.

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 their 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. Overall there will be more than 400 new collection points plus kerbside collections for 5.5 million UK residents.

Recycle Your Electricals research has shown that 80% of consumers believe recycling is a good thing, and many of us already recycle materials like paper and plastic. Research has also shown that most of us have unwanted electricals we want to get rid of, even if it’s just a drawer of cables - millions of electrical items are hoarded in UK homes. And yet 39% of people bin electricals rather than recycle them say they think it’s simply too hard to recycle. The aim of these projects is to overcome these issues by making it easier to recycle all of our electricals.

Cllr Steve Campkin, Deputy Leader of Ashford Borough Council and portfolio holder for Climate, Environment and Transport, said: “Great to see this awareness raising initiative in the borough which supports the work of our Household Waste Recycling Centres.

“It adds another dimension to our offer providing a reuse service that not only benefits the circular economy but also a local charity, Pilgrims Hospice, through donations of unwanted but working items.”

"We are thrilled to support Ashford’s E-Cycle Revival that addresses the pressing issue of e-waste.” said Scott Butler, Executive Director of Material Focus. "By investing in improved collection and drop-off services and exploring new recycling methods, we are taking a significant step towards creating a more sustainable future by making it easier for 10 million more people to recycle their electricals."

For more information about Material Focus and to search alternative recycling points head to Recycle your Electricals website.

More information about the E-cycle Revival events can can be found on our recycle your electricals page.