About Material Focus

Delivering on the promise

What we’ve been working on since our launch in 2020

Young light-skinned man lifting cardboard boxes out of his car boot and handing them to his two children who are holding the boxes, they're standing in front of the 'cardboard' recycling sign at a household waste recycling centre.

13 in-depth research studies

We have published 13 in-depth research studies into key issues – from how to boost battery recycling to public attitudes and behaviours towards electrical waste.

75% increase

We supported Gloucester City Council to expand their electrical recycling services resulting in a 75% uplift in the tonnage of electricals collected from the kerbside compared with the same period last year.

Hessian bag stuffed full of old electricals leaning against a door.

100+ partnerships

We’ve worked with over 100 local authorities, businesses and local communities to get people across the UK recycling their electricals

Young light skinned woman with a pink stripy shirt, pink eyeshadow and an excited expression against a bright pink background, she is holding a white smart phone with one hand and pointing to it with the other hand.

48% more people

Nearly half the people who see our adverts say they plan to recycle their electricals in future. We’re making electrical recycling the easy and obvious choice for millions of people.

Here’s how we’re making it happen

Insight

We fund technical research on the barriers to reusing and recycling old electricals. Insight from this research galvanises new and innovative approaches to recycling.

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Investment

We work with partners to grow the number and type of collection points, making it easier for everyone to recycle their old electricals.

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Inspiration

Material Focus inspires people to change their behaviour. We do this by revealing the hidden value of the materials in our old electricals, and providing practical information on how to recycle them.

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How we’re funded

Our funding comes from UK WEEE Regulations Compliance Fees. These are paid by electrical producers if they don’t meet annual recycling targets set by the government. The fees are set higher than the average costs of collections to encourage collections to take place. We manage spending of the fees to support reuse and recycling of electricals in the UK.

Annual Review Cover 2021 - an image of hypnocat sitting in a chair in a library

Highlights 2020-3

We’ve been busy making it easier for millions more people to understand what, how, why to recycle their electricals. And find more local places to fix, donate and recycle them.

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Governance and the Material Focus Board

Our Board is made up of four producer trade associations within the Joint Trade Associations (JTA), namely the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA), BEAMA, the Lighting Industry Association (LIA) and techUK, whose members have significant household WEEE obligations.

Deciding what to invest in

An independent advisory panel provides strategic direction for the disbursement of funds. The panel is made up of representatives from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities Forum (AATF Forum), Industry Council for Electronic Equipment Recycling (ICER), Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC), National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO), WEEE Schemes Forum (WSF), Reuse Network, Joint Trade Associations (JTA) and Environmental Services Association (ESA).

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Work for us

Come and be part of the team.

Our current vacancies

Material Focus is an independent not-for-profit organisation. We’re on a mission to stop electricals being hoarded and thrown away, and ensure they’re reused and recycled instead.