Chorley residents urged to recycle their electricals via new project

From today, 7 striking new pink small electrical recycling banks will be installed in easily accessible locations across Chorley, including shopping centres and libraries. 

Temporary pop-up collection events are also planned to be held at local community sites throughout the year, as an ongoing part of the project.

This is one of over 40 UK projects funded by Material Focus, the not for profit leading the Recycle Your Electricals campaign who have provided £7,000 to Chorley Council to support this project. ‘Recycle Chorley’ is joining other projects around the country in making it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals.

‘Recycle Chorley,’ the small electricals recycling scheme, will make recycling easier for residents, allowing them to drop off their outdated gadgets and appliances, and reassuring them that they will be handled with care. Whether it's a non-working smartphone, a broken blender, or an ancient toaster, any small item with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled.

Residents will be made aware of how and where they can recycle their electricals through information on leaflets and on eye-catching posters featuring HypnoCat. Keep an eye out for HypnoCat, the Recycle Your Electricals mesmerising pink, fluffy mascot, who is on a mission to hypnotise residents into recycling their electricals.

The aim of the nationwide Electricals Recycling Fund is to significantly reduce e-waste and its environmental impact by making it easier for consumers to recycle their electricals.

The projects that have been funded by Material Focus include a variety of recycling methods, from kerbside collections to more drop-off points in schools, community centres, and bring banks. Overall, there will be over 400 new collection points plus kerbside collections for 5.5 million UK residents.

Councillor Adrian Lowe, Executive Member for Customer, Streetscene and Environment at Chorley Council said: “It’s really important that we offer a service in Chorley to recycle small electrical appliances, there are literally thousands of items that are thrown away each year that can be recycled. 

‘’We want to encourage residents that recycling is the responsible way to dispose of small electrical items, many have valuable components that can be reused as well as repurposing parts, we hope this scheme will encourage a new approach to recycling in the future.”

"We are pleased to support the ‘Recycle Chorley’ initiative that will address the pressing issue of e-waste.” said Scott Butler, Executive Director of Material Focus. "By investing in improved collection and drop-off services and exploring new recycling methods, we are taking a significant step towards creating a more sustainable future by making it easier for 10 million more people to recycle their electricals."