The Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) is to offer free recycling bags to residents visiting the region’s household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) in exchange for unwanted or broken electrical items.
From Friday (17 January), any Merseyside resident visiting one of the 13 HWRCs in the region can receive a heavy duty recycling bag if they recycle waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The project specifically targets small electrical items, such as hairdryers, mobile phones, and kettles, which can be stripped down to parts and recycled.
It is hoped the bag would then be used by residents to pre-sort recyclables from residual waste, which could potentially reduce waiting times at HWRCs.
The scheme has been set up by MRWA in partnership with Veolia Environmental Services to boost recycling rates and ‘stop precious metals used in electronics and electrical equipment ending up as landfill’.
According to WRAP, by recycling the estimated 89,000 tonnes of WEEE that is disposed of in residual waste at HWRCs, the UK could save around £28 million, while recycling the WEEE disposed of via residual household waste collections could have a resale value of up to £56 million.
At present in Merseyside, WEEE can only be recycled at HWRCs, and not at the kerbside.
Rewarding good recycling habits
Speaking of the project, Councillor Graham Morgan, Chairperson of MRWA, said: “If you’ve got an electrical item that is broken or no longer used then drop it off at your local Recycling Centre. Instead of gathering dust and cluttering up your house it’ll be stripped down and the parts recycled.
“The bag offer is always very popular and works because it is a way of rewarding good recycling habits.”
Alex Paterson, Director of Veolia Environmental Services Merseyside and Halton, added: “At present small electrical items are commonly seen in the residual waste and in the kerbside dry recyclable containers. This means they do not get recycled and may end up in landfill. The blue bag will provide an easy way to collect and recycle these items and therefore improve recycling rates on Merseyside.”
Bag supplies are limited so will be issued on a first-come-first-served basis, and only one bag is available per person per visit.
HWRCs in Merseyside are located at:
- Birkenhead: Wallasey Bridge Road, CH41 1EB
- Clatterbridge: Mount Road, CH63 6JE
- Formby: Altcar Road, L37 8EG
- Huyton: Wilson Road, L36 6AD
- Kirkby: Depot Road, L33 3AR
- Newton-le-Willow: Junction Lane, WA12 8DN
- Otterspool: Jericho Lane, L17 5AR
- Rainford: Southerns Lane, WA11 8EY
- Rainhill: Tasker Terrace, L35 4NX
- Sefton Meadows: Sefton Lane, L31 8BX
- Southport: Scarisbrick New Road PR9 7RG
- South Sefton: Irlam Road, L20 4AE
- West Kirby: Greenbank Road, CH48 5HR
Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority is responsible for the disposal of municipal waste on Merseyside and covers the following local authorities: Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.
Read more about the recycling bag scheme at MRWA.
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