Aberdeenshire residents can recycle their unwanted cables and electricals as part of campaign
A local authority is partnering with a recycling campaign to help residents give their unwanted old cables - and other electricals - a second life.
Aberdeenshire Council has teamed up with Recycle Your Electricals.
Research commissioned by Recycle Your Electricals reveals that people are holding onto - or throwing away - enough cables to reach the moon and back.
If all Aberdeenshire residents recycled just one cable each, it could save at least 1325kg of valuable copper from going to waste.
The Great Cable Challenge is a nationwide call to action to tackle the millions of cables and other electricals sitting idle across UK households.
This annual initiative is part of this year’s International E-Waste Day.
Councillor Alan Turner, Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee chairman, said: “The copper in our old cables is incredibly useful. It can be recycled and used in many different things including mobile phones or even medical equipment.
“Aside from conserving this valuable material, copper recycling helps to reduce the emissions and energy used in mining and refining newly extracted copper.
“So, popping out to recycle your old cables is a really environmentally friendly thing to do.”
Recycle Your Electricals’ research has found that two-in-five UK homes (39 per cent) keep hold of their small electricals in a “drawer of doom” - an often hidden stash of unused electricals and broken tech.
Over a quarter of these respondents (28 per cent) said they felt embarrassed, annoyed or frustrated by the small electricals they store in their homes.
Cables can be recycled at any of the council’s household recycling centres. Look for the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) container.
WEEE containers are also available at Port Elphinstone’s Davidson Park and at Insch’s leisure centre car park.
Alternatively, Recycle Your Electricals’ Recyling Locator at www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk can reveal local retail outlets that may also accept cables for recycling. Enter a postcode to find the nearest repair, donation or recycling point.
For more information about how to correctly and safely recycle or dispose of various common household items, visit www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/WasteAZ
International E-Waste Day is a global moment to highlight electrical waste - the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, and in the UK.