Media release, 28 September 2021
Recycle Your Electricals is continuing its UK-wide roll out of “HypnoCat”, a pink fluffy cat on a mission to hypnotise the nation into recycling their small old electricals. Building upon its initial launch from last year with 30 local authority areas participating, this Autumn a further 50 local authorities will be participating in the campaign including Blackburn, Buckinghamshire, Cardiff, Gloucester, Havering, Hounslow, Leeds, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Sussex, Newport, North Lincolnshire, Sheffield, Tandridge, Tewkesbury and Torridge. The campaign was launched in response to waste electricals becoming one of the fastest growing waste streams in the UK.
“HypnoCat” the fun character has been designed to hypnotise the nation into recycling their electricals. He will be issuing a series of rallying calls to local residents across social media, radio and billboards, including ‘Don’t bin them, recycle your electricals!’. Local authorities will be participating by promoting the campaign messages across their social media channels.
Scott Butler, Material Focus, Executive Director, said: “Small old electricals are one of the fastest growing waste streams, and we are throwing away valuable materials that are lost forever. In reality, these small old, unwanted electricals contain 75% of materials that can be recycled or reused such as precious materials like gold, aluminium and steel. Through HypnoCat and our campaign we are providing step-by-step information on how to reuse and recycle old electricals. We want everyone to know that all old electricals – that’s everything with a plug, battery or cable – can be recycled. We are delighted to be working with over 50 local authorities across the UK this year to stop throwing away their old electricals, and instead put them in a bag ready to be recycled.
The Recycle Your Electricals Campaign is making recycling small old electricals easier than ever before by providing an information hub for the UK on how to recycle electricals, and a postcode locator with details of over 2,500 recycling, repair and reuse points across the UK.
Share pictures, videos and stories of the electricals that you’ve collected in a bag prior to placing them at the kerbside or taking them to your nearest recycling point. Use the hashtag #RecycleYourElectricals or tag us on Facebook @RecycleYourElectricals Twitter @RecycleElectric & Instagram @RecycleYourElectricals_
Ends
For further press information please contact Kate Hinton – kate@matericalfocus.org.uk
About Material Focus and the Recycle Your Electricals campaign
Material Focus is a not-for-profit organisation whose goal is to stop the nation throwing away or hoarding all their old small electricals. Material Focus is delivering the UK-wide Recycle Your Electricals campaign. The campaign will reveal the value hidden in electricals and will make it easier for us all to recycle and reuse the small electricals we no longer need by providing more recycling points as well as providing practical information on how households can recycle.
The campaign is funded by producers of electrical appliances. The UK government sets annual targets for the recycling of all waste electricals, including small electricals. If producers of electrical appliances don’t meet this target, then they contribute towards a fund (WEEE Fund) which pays for a range of activities, including communications, behaviour change activities, increased recycling projects and research. Ultimately the aim is to support actions that will help the UK increase the levels of reuse and recycling of waste electricals.
One of our friendly team will be happy to help.
