How to recycle electrical items and batteries
How to recycle electrical items
We have lots of options for how you can safely recycle your electricals and keep their valuable components in use.
You can put them in a carrier bag, on top of your recycling bin (on collection day) - collection crews have a separate compartment on the vehicle to store them safely.
Or take them to a household recycling centre.
You can:
- put them in a carrier bag, on top of your recycling bin (on collection day)
- take them to a household recycling centre
- take them to a supermarket, as most of them have a special recycling bin for batteries (find your nearest recycling point) [add link to Waste Wizard]
You can:
- put them in a carrier bag, on top of your recycling bin (on collection day)
- take them to a household recycling centre
- take them to a supermarket, as most of them have a special recycling bin for vapes (find your nearest recycling point) [add link to Waste Wizard]
Take them to a household recycling centre or book a bulky waste collection.
There is around £17 billion worth of old or unwanted electricals in UK homes.
Many of these items can be repaired, donated or sold, but all electrical items can be recycled. In fact, if we recycled our old electricals it would cut as much carbon dioxide as taking 1.3 million cars off the road.
So recycling electricals saves resources, cash and protects the environment.
The dangers of putting electrical items (including vapes and batteries) in bins
Recycling them also stops them causing dangerous fires in bins, waste vehicles and waste facilities.
Electricals, vapes and batteries that are disposed of incorrectly lead to fires in general waste and mixed recycling facilities each year in the UK.
If batteries, or electricals containing batteries, are thrown away in bins or household recycling lorries with other materials, they get crushed in the waste and recycling process. This increases the chances that they could be punctured and self-combust, setting fire to dry and flammable waste and household recycling around them.
It's really important to dispose of these items separately and never put them in a bin.
According to latest research there have been over 700 fires in the last year, in waste trucks and sites caused by batteries that weren’t removed from electricals. In Buckinghamshire alone there have been 13 in the last year.
These fires are a rising problem and a very serious danger to bin crews and waste workers. Waste fires cost over £150 million a year to councils, waste companies and fire services, and also damage the environment. A driver from Buckinghamshire Council’s waste collection team who has experienced a fire in a waste truck said: “In the space of a couple of minutes, it went from a bit of smoke to two foot flames leaping out of the waste truck. On this occasion we were lucky, we could get to a safe place, which meant no one was hurt. However, these types of fires, if we were on a residential street, could cause untold damage.”
Some items have hidden batteries
Did you know that your electric toothbrush has a hidden battery within it? Same with your old calculator, vape or e-cigarette, children’s toys, hearing aids, or anything that is rechargeable.
It’s understandable if you didn’t - in fact, 45% of us are unaware of the fire risk if we don’t safely dispose of batteries hidden inside their electricals.