Super recyclers win cash prizes
Six Devon residents have won cash prizes by taking their unwanted small electrical items to a recycling centre, instead of throwing them away with their domestic waste.
The prizes, which amount to £325, were won following the first of five prize draws held between April and May which hope to inspire more people to recycle Waste Electronic & Electrical Equipment (WEEE).
At the last count just 30 per cent of all ‘small’ electrical items in the UK are recycled.
The top £200 prize was won by Lindsay Coren, of Tedburn St. Mary, after he recycled a microwave at the Crediton Recycling Centre.
The five £25 prize winners are Amrit Saggu-Assi, Axminster, Jonathan Taylor, Paignton, Melissa Ranger, Harracott, Trevor Sword, Exeter and Kelvin Ellacott, Buckfastleigh.
The draws are being held in a bid to encourage people to recycle more small electric items like toasters and hairdryers.
The prizes are sponsored by the Waste Electronic & Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Industry’s Distributor Takeback Scheme.
Funding was awarded to a partnership of Devon County Council, Torbay Council and waste management companies SITA UK Ltd, Devon Waste Management, Tor2 and REPIC Ltd following a successful application.
Top prize-winner Lindsay Coren said: “I was very surprised but delighted to win. We’re keen recyclers and reuse items all the time. The money will go towards renovating our house.”
Councillor Roger Croad, Devon Country Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment said: “Every year up to 70 per cent of all small electrical items are thrown into domestic waste.
“By keeping WEEE separate from other waste it can be treated, the hazardous substances can be removed and a large amount of waste can be recycled rather than sent for disposal.”
Councillor Jerry Brook, the county councillor for Chudleigh Rural, said: “It’s great to see conscientious residents like Lindsay do their bit to recycle unwanted electrical goods.
“If everyone made a small effort and disposed of these items at recycling centres, we would see a big impact on recycling rates in Devon."
To enter the final draw on May 5 and receive a scratch card you need to take small unwanted electrical items to a Devon or Torbay Household Waste Recycling Centre for recycling.
Scratch card holders need to enter the unique code on their scratch card at www.recycledevon.org to be included in the draw.
As a general rule items that could be recycled include small handheld items that require a plug or batteries to use that can fit inside a carrier bag, such as:
• Small kitchen appliances (kettles, toasters, irons etc.)
• Hair dryers, hair straighteners & clippers
• Clocks, watches, calculators & torches
• Remote controls, laptops, mobile phones, cameras
• Radios, mini hi-fis, & CD & MP3 players
• Small electronic toys e.g. remote control cars
• Power tools, smoke detectors & thermostats
• E-cigarettes, chargers
The prize draws are one of four elements of a larger initiative to ensure that broken or unwanted electricals are reused, repaired and recycled.
Other elements include running Restart events across the county to repair electrical items, doorstep recycling collections of small electricals for households in Torbay and North Devon and WEEE (Waste Electronic & Electrical Equipment) Amnesties in Schools.
Items exclude fluorescent tubes and bulbs, televisions, monitors and fridges
For more information visit www.recycledevon.org
