City of Wolverhampton Council is celebrating the efforts of recycling residents who are making good use of the city’s free small electricals collection service.

Hundreds of old or unwanted electrical items and thousands of batteries have already been collected and recycled under the scheme.

A wide range of items have been picked up by the council’s waste crews since the free kerbside collection service began.

Crews have collected kettles, landline phones and old irons, hairdryers, older extension leads and obsolete adapters.

These older items have wiring in them that contain precious metals such as copper, aluminium and even gold which, when recycled, can be turned into new products.

The collection service, which began last August, means residents can leave their small electrical items in an open carrier bag by the side of their bin when they put out their domestic and recycling waste for collection.

The items left are then checked to ensure they can be recycled and removed for storage at the collection depot ready for the final recycling process.

Batteries can be left in a separate small bag on top of the bin and these are collected and recycled safely.

Residents can find out more at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/recycle-electricals  or look out for social media posts featuring HypnoCat, the Recycle Your Electricals mesmerising pink, fluffy mascot, who is on a mission to hypnotise local residents into recycling their electricals.

Wolverhampton’s small electricals recycling service is one of over 60 UK projects funded by Material Focus, the not for profit leading the Recycle Your Electricals campaign, who have provided £44,020 to support the city’s project.

The council is joining other projects around the country in making it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals.

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “I’m very pleased to see that residents have been using our free small electricals recycling service.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has taken the opportunity to do their bit to help the environment and I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t yet used our collections to get on board.

“Technology moves at such a quick pace and more and more electrical items are being thrown away when they could be recycled - this service is part of our commitment to a greener future for all residents.”

Scott Butler, Executive Director of Material Focus, said: "From the start of Wolverhampton’s small electricals collection service, we’ve been delighted with how engaged and supportive the local community has been. But it is imperative we keep reminding those living locally of the pressing issue of e-waste.

"Investment into the project from the Electrical Recycling Fund has been instrumental in improving collection and drop-off services and the delivery of new recycling methods, and these will continue to support the overall aim of a more sustainable future, as long as local residents continue to recycle.”

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.