Battery and electrical kerbside recycling scheme to launch in South Norfolk

This is one of over 70 UK pilots funded by Material Focus, the not for profit leading the Recycle Your Electricals campaign, who have provided £33,000 to support this pilot. South Norfolk Council are joining other pilots around the country in making it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals.

Residents can book their collections from Tuesday 27 January, with collections taking place from 3 February. Bookings are limited to one per month and the electricals for collection must be smaller than a microwave.

Click here to find out more and to book this service.

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 local residents into recycling their electricals. This pilot is part of the new 2025 funding for the Electricals Recycling Fund where Material Focus has allocated an additional £750,000.

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 pilots 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 3 million residents - together helping 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals. 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.The aim of these pilots is to overcome these issues by making it easier to repair, donate or recycle electricals.

South Norfolk Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, Cllr Martyn Hooton said,

This is a fantastic opportunity for us to expand our recycling offer at no extra cost to our residents."

"We are pleased to support South Norfolk Council’s new kerbside collection that addresses 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."

Find your nearest recycling point.