Small electrical appliance recycling
On average, each person in the UK buys 3 new electrical items each year – that’s about 170 million items across the UK.
However, only a small number of the electrical items already in the home, whether they’re broken or just unwanted, end up being recycled.
Surprisingly, 75% of all materials in your old electricals can be recycled, and turned into useful things like life saving equipment, childrens playgrounds and even new electricals.
Empty your cupboards and drawers of unwanted electical items and recycle them!
We can collect unwanted small electrical appliances (e-waste) weekly on your kerbside collection day.
Please place these items in a clearly marked carrier bag, alongside your recycling boxes.
*All electrical leads need to be contained inside the bag as well as all batteries removed - if it is not presented this way our collection team will not collect the electrical items.
There are also over 5,100 UK drop-off points for your old electricals. Make sure you recycle yours correctly so that they can be repaired, passed on or made into new things. Find your nearest collection point here.
Find your local library to recycle your batteries for free. This applies to household portable batteries only, including AA, AAA, C and D. Any other type of battery can not be recycled here.
What type of electricals are collected?
- Irons
- Sewing Machine
- Telephones
- Blenders
- Cameras
- Cassette players
- CD players
- DVD players
- Electronic air freshener (remove perfume)
- Fans
- Straighteners
- Hairdryers
- Toothbrush
- Kettles
- Radios
- Smoke alarms
- Toasters
- Other small electrical appliance
The general guideline is, if the item fits in a standard carrier bag (supermarket bag) then it can be collected.
What can't be collected?
- Any item that does not fit inside a carrier bag (including the cable)
- Bulbs (fluorescent lamps)
- Batteries – these can be recycled at retailers who sell batteries
- TVs
- Car batteries
- Large vacuum cleaners
You can take these large items to your local Household Reuse and Recycling Centre at Space Waye TW14 0TH. Visit the West London Waste website to find details and make a booking.
What happens to the collected appliances?
Once collected, the appliances are sent to a re-processing site where metals are recovered and sent for further refining.
Waste plastics are often shredded and incinerated for energy.
TRAID - Home Collection
Surprisingly, 155,000 tonnes of e-waste which could be reused or recycled is being thrown away in the UK. We, alongside West London Waste have partnered with TRAID to allow Hounslow residents to book a convenient home collection of unwanted electrical items (e-waste). When booking a collection for e-waste please remember this can only take place if you have textiles to recycle too.
What does TRAID do with the collected e-waste appliances?
Once collected, the appliances are sent to a re-processor in Kent, where the metals are recovered and sent for further refining. Other materials are also extracted including glass, wood and plastics.
What can I do if some e-waste items are in working order?
Please consider donating your working items to a reuse organisation or charity shop. All items collected will be sent for recycling ONLY. There are some other ideas for reuse or repair that can be found on Recycle Now site. TRAID will be looking to reuse items through their home collections in the future.
To book your free collection of e-waste with TRAID, please call 0208 733 2595 or visit https://www.traid.org.uk/clothes-donations/book-a-collection/
Recycling Vapes
Recycle your vape and save precious resources from going up in smoke!
Vapes are quickly becoming part of the fastest growing waste stream in the UK, where we bin over 155,000 tonnes of electrical waste per year. There is hidden treasure inside the vapes so we want to encourage residents to recycle their vapes and save these precious resources from being lost forever. You can watch a video on how and why you should recycle your vapes on the Recycle Your Electricals Website.
In the UK we buy half a billion vapes a year and bin a massive 3 million of them every week. This includes rechargables, single-use and rechargable vapes with a single-use chamber. Single use vapes are a big problem, it is reported that 1.3 million single use vapes are thrown away each week which is enough to cover 22 football pitches every year! , These might be called disposable but they should still be recycled.
Visit Recycle Your Electricals to find a Vape Recycling location near you.
