recycle your electricals
Did you know that discarded old electrical items are one of the fastest growing waste streams in the UK - and in the world? From January 2021, all physical electrical and electronic retailers will be obliged to accept consumers’ old electricals in-store for recycling.
That's why here at Boots, we have partnered with Material Focus to provide customers with more ways to reuse, repair or recycle old electricals. Material Focus is a new not-for-profit organisation, that launched The Recycle Your Electricals Campaign to encourage and make it easier for more people to reuse and recycle their unwanted electricals - instead of throwing them away or hoarding them.
For more information on recycling your electricals and the Recycle Your Electricals Scheme, visit https://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/ or check our FAQs below to find out more about what you can do to help slow one of the planet’s fastest-growing waste streams! So, what are you waiting for, think outside the trash! Reduce, reuse, and recycle!
FAQs
Recycling and reusing unwanted electricals can help the economy and improve lives. Plus, electrical equipment contains materials which can be dangerous to the environment and harmful to human health if not disposed of correctly.
Anything with a plug, cable or battery can be recycled or reused. Make sure you bag up your old electricals for recycling.
There are a huge amount of electrical items that can be recycled and made into anything from life-saving equipment, to children's playgrounds once recovered.
Check your local recycling centre. There are more than 2,000 drop-off points across the UK that will welcome your old appliances and will recycle your electricals safely and responsibly. These include local council-run recycling centres, charities, retailers, or you can drop off at your local Boots store.
Now when you buy a new electrical product from any participating shops across the UK, the store will take back your old appliance on a like-for-like basis. They will do so whether or not you bought your old product from that shop. The rules, which cover all types of electricals, came into effect in the UK on 1 January 2021. Just look out for the Recycle Your Electricals campaign logo in shop windows.
Next time you go into an electrical store, expect to see a sign explain that:
- Retailers will recycle your old appliance for free when you’re buying a new one. For the majority of retailers this will be on a ‘like-for-like basis’. For example, if you buy a charger from your local electrical retailer, then you can hand in your old one for recycling.
- All you need to do is bring in your old electrical item within 28 days, show the receipt for its replacement – and the retailer will do the rest. At Boots we don’t require a receipt, however other retailers might.
The symbol indicates that the product should not be discarded as unsorted waste but must be sent to separate collection facilities for recovery and recycling.
When we discard electricals, instead of recycling or reusing them, we create e-waste. This poses a major threat to our health and environment. Such as:
• Environmental damage
• Climate change
• Loss of financial value
• Loss of resources
