Recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)

We’re all getting used to recycling waste items such as paper, bottles and tin cans in the correct recycling bins, however there are some items that need special attention, such as the recycling of electrical items such as:

• Laptops, computers
• MP3 players, sound equipment
• Light bulbs, batteries
• Mobile phones, tablets
• Wiring
• TVs, DVD players

Unfortunately you can’t simply stick these items in your standard recycling bins, so here we look at where they should go.

Facts about WEEE?

Anything that needs plugs or batteries in order to work is classes as waste electrical and electronic equipment, which is becoming one of the fastest growing waste streams in Europe. Around one million tonnes of WEEE is thrown away every year – over 75% of this ends up in landfill.

But electrical waste can be recycled, so it’s important to play our part and not simply throw old appliances out.

Recycling electrical and electronic waste

Regulations came into effect in 2007 with the intention to boost WEEE recycling rates, now retailers have to provide a way of returning end-of-life electricals and take responsibility for reusing or recycling them.

We also have a responsibility of recycling waste electricals, ways of doing this are:

• Recycling old electricals: hire a skip, take to the tip or return the items to the retailer.
• Giving unwanted electricals away – sometimes other people or charities may find a use for your unwanted electricals, this keeps them away from landfill.
• Investing in electricals with longer warranties, this means that they are less likely to break and the retailer has a responsibility to dispose of them.

Recycling WEEE

If you only have one item that’s not too bulky then you can simply take it to your local household waste recycling centre.

However, if there is a lot of electrical waste then you can hire a skip, with larger quantities this can be by far the easiest option. A good skip hire company will recycle WEEE for you, along with other recyclable waste, and relieve you of the hassle of transporting everything yourself.

Related articles:

• What is landfill?
• Recycling facts in the UK

Getting a head start on the summer – garden clearance

It’s that time of the year again when you look out your back window and realise that the garden has seen better days – overgrown shrubs, out of control trees and garden beds in need of some serious attention. If this is sounding familiar it’s time to put some spring in your garden’s steps with some garden clearance!

Firstly, get organised and hire a skip – that way you don’t have to worry about making several trips in the car to the dump. It’s easier to have a skip dropped off, you can fill it and then all your waste will be picked up and removed once you’ve finished. Look at our Guide to hiring a skip.

Trees

Deal with the overgrown branches and long grass surrounding the base of the trees. There may also be significant leaf debris depending on what tree it is, so use a rake. Trim the branches that are looking unhealthy or dead in order to encourage new growth.

Hedges

After being left all winter the hedges will require a healthy trim. Always start at the bottom and work your way up when pruning a hedge, and make sure the top of the hedge is even. Rake up all the trimmings and add to your skip.

Garden beds

Check the soil in your garden beds to make sure it’s still in good condition to grow plants in. If not then look at re-soiling or fertiliser, removing any dead plants or debris beforehand. For plants that are still alive but a little unhealthy then plant them in a smaller pot and nurture them indoors until they come back to life.

Shed

Our trusted garden shed usually becomes the dumping ground for all sorts of items, so it’s best to take everything out and start from scratch, identifying all the broken items such as garden furniture or broken garden utensils, and putting them in the skip.

Once this spring clearing of your garden is done, you can sit back and enjoy the summer!

• Get composting!
• Recycling facts in the UK