Small Electrical Items To Be Collected And Recycled In Adur & Worthing

Small broken electrical items will be easily recycled thanks to a free household collection service being launched by Adur & Worthing Councils.

Kettles, toasters, irons and other portable items with plugs or that are powered by batteries will be picked up from the kerbside as part of residents’ weekly waste collections from Monday 3 October.

To help publicise the new service, refuse and recycling teams are now attaching tags to bins when they have emptied them. The brightly coloured tags give details of the types of items that can and can’t be left out for collection.

The plea for residents to recycle their broken electricals is the latest step in the Councils’ commitment to reduce the amount of waste produced by households while increasing local recycling rates.

Latest estimates indicate about 82 tonnes in Adur and 77 tonnes in Worthing of electrical waste is thrown away by local households each year.

It is hoped the new free kerbside collection service - combined with efforts to encourage people to reuse items that still work - will halve that amount within 12 months.

Cllr Emma Evans, Adur District Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Leisure, said:

“Thanks to the hard work of local residents, we’ve made real improvements in recent years in reducing the amount of household waste produced while increasing recycling levels. But we can and must go much further.

“This new free weekly service will support that work, making it easier for residents to recycle broken items while promoting alternative ways for appliances which are still working to be reused.”

Cllr Vicki Wells, Worthing Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, said:

“I’m delighted we are able to launch this new service, which will make it easier and quicker for residents to recycle broken electrical items.

“Everyone can do their bit to help the environment - and this simple move will help redirect tonnes of waste from landfill while saving residents multiple trips to the tip.”

The new small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) collection service, which has been launched with support from West Sussex County Council, is part of the Councils’ ongoing sustainability drive.

Residents will be encouraged to reuse items where possible, such as by donating those that still work to charity or community organisations. 

But for small items which are broken, all householders need to do is leave them next to their grey or blue bins on the day of their weekly collection - after removing any batteries from them.

Appliances - which should be able to fit into a plastic bag - will then be taken away to a specialist facility to be broken down and reused in new equipment.

Larger electrical goods, such as televisions, fridges and microwaves, should be taken to the local Household Waste Recycling Sites in Shoreham or Worthing.

The Councils also operate a bulky waste collection service where items can be taken away for a small charge. Visit www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/bulky-waste to book.

For more details on the small WEEE service visit www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/recycling.