Huntingdonshire's residents urged to recycle their electricals with the installation of 28 new small electrical recycling points across the district.
Huntingdonshire District Council today unveils its plans for The Huntingdonshire Small Electrical Recycling Initiative which will install 28 new pink electrical recycling bins across the district. From March 2025, the hope is that 83,807 residents across the community will get behind its drive to recycle their electricals.
This is one of over 60 UK projects funded by Material Focus, the not for profit leading the Recycle Your Electricals campaign, who have provided £20,246 to support this project. Huntingdonshire District Council, are joining other projects around the country in making it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals.
The Huntingdonshire Small Electrical Recycling Initiative creates an easier electrical recycling option for locals and the council anticipates that approximately 19 tonnes of electricals will be collected in 12 months.
The existing blue bins will be replaced with new striking pink bins, alongside additional smaller collection bins in community locations. The new bins can be filled with small electricals including mobile phones, tablets, cables and kids toys, anything smaller than a standard sized microwave.
The district's Repair Cafes will be supported by the project to promote the new recycling sites. Events have been confirmed for St Ives Green Week, taking place from 7-15 June, the St Neots Food and Drink Festival, which runs from 30 May - 1 June and Wild about Huntingdon happening on 29 June.
Residents will be made aware of how and where they can recycle their electricals through information on leaflets and eye-catching posters featuring HypnoCat, social media posts, radio broadcasts, a dedicated landing page on the council website, community events and email signatures. Keep an eye out for HypnoCat, the Recycle Your Electricals mesmerising pink, fluffy mascot, who is on a mission to hypnotise local residents into recycling their electricals.
This project is part of the new 2025 funding for the Electricals Recycling Fund where Material Focus has allocated an additional £750,000. 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 over 400 new collection points plus kerbside collections for 3 million residents - together helping 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals.
Recycle Your Electricals research has shown that 80% of consumers believe recycling is a good thing, and many of us already recycle things like paper and plastic. Research has also shown that most of us have unwanted electricals we want to get rid of. On average there are at least 30 electricals hidden away in drawers in UK homes, a total of 880 million items across the UK - with a simple repair many could be donated or sold to people who could put them to good use. And yet 39% of people bin electricals, rather than recycle or reuse them leading to over 100,000 tonnes of electricals thrown away every year. The aim of these projects is to overcome these issues by making it easier to repair, donate or recycle electricals.
Mike Gildersleeves, Corporate Director (Place) at Huntingdonshire District Council, said: "This new recycling initiative and installation of dedicated small electricals recycling bins, reflects our ongoing commitment to helping our communities take positive action to protect the environment. By making it easier for residents to recycle electrical items safely and correctly, we’re not only promoting responsible disposal but also reducing the risk of fires in our waste collection vehicles, keeping both our crews and residents safe. This initiative also directly supports our corporate objective of enabling and encouraging local people and businesses to reduce carbon emissions across Huntingdonshire."
"We are pleased to support the Huntingdonshire Small Electrical Recycling Initiative 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."
To find your nearest recycling point search recycle your electricals.