Newport schools programme targets games consoles and mobiles
Pupils across Newport have been recycling their old mobile phones, kettles, toasters and games consoles as part of WRAP Cymru’s first school programme in the area.
It’s a common misconception that equipment like games consoles, irons and remote controls can’t be recycled. We hope that other schools and communities around Wales follow suit and host more events like these to help shatter the myth and get more people to take unwanted or broken small electrical and electronic items to their local recycling centres. By doing so we could save 100,000 tonnes of waste being sent to landfill each year in the UK.
Beth Winkley - WRAP Cymru Programme Manager
Members of the community, as well as students, brought over 1100 broken or unwanted small electronic and electrical items to four different schools in Newport, collectively diverting over 10.5 tonnes from landfill.
The new initiative by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) is aimed at raising awareness of the fact that small items of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) should be recycled rather than sent to landfill.
In the run-up to Christmas 2008 alone, the UK was estimated to have spent £7.3bn on electrical and electronic products, yet a survey by Recycle Now revealed that more than a third of us still think that the items they are replacing cannot be recycled. This means that many unwanted items of WEEE will have been thrown out along with ordinary household rubbish and ultimately ended up in landfill.
The events took place at Duffryn High School on 5th February 2010, Bassaleg High School on 8th February, Hartridge High School on 9th February and St Julian’s High School on 10th February.
Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing, Jane Davidson, visited St Julian’s High School to see the new recycling drive first-hand.
ldquo;I am delighted by the volume of electrical items that have been collected through this initiative. Wales has committed to one planet living and if we are to achieve this we must recycle as much as possible and minimise the amount of waste sent to landfill. This includes electrical equipment which so many people do not realise can be recycled,” she said.
The event was run in partnership with Sims Recycling Solutions, who operate the world’s largest and most technologically advanced WEEE recycling plant at their site in Newport. The facility recycles end-of-life or redundant equipment such as computers, televisions, DVDs, radios, games consoles, microwaves and phones. The company collected all the small waste electronic and electrical equipment brought to the schools for reprocessing.
Other events partners included Newport City Council, Keep Wales Tidy, Newport Wastesavers, Waste Awareness Wales and Welsh Assembly Government.
Stephen Davidson, Head of Environment and Public Protection at Newport City Council said:
“We are pleased to have been able to pilot this initiative here in Newport and have been very encouraged with the response we have received from the schoolchildren and local residents.
“It is all too easy simply to put old electrical and electronic items such as mobile phones, game machines and domestic items in the bin but they will then just end up in landfill. Not only is this extremely harmful to the environment but it also means that all the valuable materials and energy used in the manufacturing process are simply being wasted. We would urge all residents in Newport to make sure they dispose these items responsibly in future.”
To find your nearest recycling centre, visit Waste Awareness Wales’s bank locator at http://www.wasteawarenesswales.org.uk/ and search by postcode. Or if you have anything that is not broken and so could be re-used, contact the Community Furniture Shop on 01633 216855.
WRAP helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change. For further information about WRAP Cymru, visit http://www.wrapcymru.org.uk/ or call 02920 448090.
