A pilot scheme in which old electrical and eletronic items are collected at the kerbside for recycling and reuse has been launched in areas of Broadland District that are furthest away from a Norfolk County Council recycling centre.
Collections in Reepham are scheduled for 9 and 23 September, although a collection service for surrounding villages has been postponed until a later date.
The scheme, which is being trialled across the county, will give some residents the chance to clear out those old electrical and electronic items, including fridges/freezers and old style TVs, with a free kerbside collection.
Leaflets to properties will be delivered the week before via Broadland’s bin collection crews and then Wiser Recycling will be collecting throughout the day and will then assess each item for reuse or to recycle.
As long as your item is has a plug or a battery and is placed at the kerbside by 7 am on the day of your collection, it can be collected during this this trial – whatever its size or condition.
Reepham will be split into two collections:
The collection rounds will be slightly different to the normal twin bin collection rounds and only the streets named will be collected from.
Communal flats are included; residents are asked to place items near the communal bins areas (but not to block them).
Collected items for reuse will be sent to charities including The Benjamin Foundation. Items that cannot be repaired will have their parts recycled by Wiser.
This scheme is being run in partnership with Breckland Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, North Norfolk District Council and South Norfolk Council, and is funded by the Distributor Take Back Scheme, which retailers can join to increase the amount of old electrical items being reused and recycled.
It had earlier been announced that a kerbside collection would also take place on 23 September in Themelthorpe, Foulsham, Guestwick, Wood Dalling, Salle and Heydon. However, this has had to be scaled back to Reepham only and across two dates at the request of the contractor.
This decision was based on experience gained from the first collection in Aylsham recently where, owing to the success of the scheme, the contractor was unable to collect all items on the day, so to ensure they can do so for future collections the area has been reduced.
Terasa Ford, recycling officer at Broadland District Council, added: “The remaining collections and routes are now being revised and we will look into arranging another collection day for these villages.”
In addition to the kerbside collection scheme, Broadland District Council run Give & Take days for small unwanted electrical items and other reusable goods throughout the year. All Norfolk residents are also able to recycle their electrical items at Norfolk County Council’s recycling centres.
- Contact: Recycling Team, Broadland District Council. Tel: 01603 430534. Email: recycling@broadland.gov.uk