Recycling small electricals

At Make it and mend it we've long been advocates of recycling rather than just taking stuff to the tip, but broken electrical goods present a difficult problem. If you're not an electrician or an expert you can't fix them. Charity shops won't take electrical goods and it doesn't feel right consigning them to landfill.

I was therefore pleased to discover that my own local council, Hounslow, now offers kerbside recycling for small electrical goods. Items, including hairdryers, kettles, toasters and irons, small enough to fit into a supermarket carrier bag can now be placed, in the bag, alongside your other recycling boxes for collection each week (but no more than one carrier bag per week).

A list of the types of electrical equipment that will be accepted is available on Hounslow's website. If residents have an item that isn’t on this list, they can contact the council's environment team which will be able to let them know if it is suitable for collection.


How good is your own local authority at collecting materials for recycling?

For more information on recycling electrical goods (including big ones) see our website post on this  How to recycle electrical goods