More than 53 tonnes of old electric household items have been recycled after just one year of a new waste collection service in Adur and Worthing.
In October 2022, Adur & Worthing Councils launched their waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) collection service, which invites residents to easily dispose of old or broken items such as toasters, kettles, radios and controllers for televisions or games consoles.
Since its launch, the sustainable service, which comes at no additional cost for residents, has already seen thousands of electrical items collected from people’s doorsteps.
The councils estimate that households in Adur and Worthing throw away a combined 160 tonnes of electrical waste each year - meaning roughly a third of the area’s old electrical items have been collected and recycled thanks to the WEEE service.
To use the service, residents can simply leave their unwanted electrical items out for collection alongside their bins on their standard bin day.
Some flats are also going to receive a special pink-lidded bin, which is for electrical waste only. Initially, only housing blocks which can easily accommodate the new bins will receive them. There will be one bin per block.
After being collected by a member of the councils’ waste and recycling teams, the items are then transferred to West Sussex County Council, which sends them to a specialist metal recycling facility near Lewes, East Sussex, for disposal.
Cllr Emma Evans, Adur’s cabinet member for the environment and leisure, said:
“It’s really fantastic news to hear that our residents have made such great use of our newest collection service.
“Thanks to the work of locals, we have made real recycling gains in recent years, and the introduction of the WEEE scheme has only added to this work. I’d encourage our residents to continue doing all they can to help recycle their household waste and electrical items.”
Cllr Vicki Wells, Worthing cabinet member for the environment, said:
“From food blenders, slow cookers and toasters to speakers, shavers and DVD players, it’s really positive to see how many electrical items our communities are recycling.
“Everyone can do their bit to help the environment, so it’s great to see how many residents are recycling through the scheme and saving on multiple trips to the tip. My expectation is that the service goes from strength to strength, and we hope to adapt it to also collect batteries in the near future.”
Adur and Worthing residents looking to clear an unwanted electrical item from their home can check whether it fits the councils’ guidelines here: https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste/what-you-can-recycle/#weee
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