North Lincolnshire electrical items recycling under way
More than three tonnes of small electrical items have been collected for recycling in the first two weeks of a new scheme in North Lincolnshire.
The scheme allows residents to recycle toasters, kettles, hairdryers and other small electrical and electronic items at the kerbside.
It covers 72,000 homes in Scunthorpe and the surrounding villages.
The council said it hoped about 1,000 tonnes of products could be recycled annually under the scheme.
To take part in the scheme, which began on 16 May, people should place small electrical items in a carrier bag next to their blue and green kerbside recycling boxes on their collection day.
Nigel Sherwood, North Lincolnshire Council's cabinet member for highways and neighbourhoods, said: "We have had a very good response so far to the scheme and we want to encourage people to continue this success.
"Electrical items can contain harmful chemicals including lead and mercury and currently most of this ends up in landfill where it can pollute the environment.
"There's huge potential for more to be recycled in North Lincolnshire with this scheme put in place. We hope to see a considerable drop in the amount that is sent to landfill consequently helping protect the environment."
The scheme is run at no cost to council taxpayers, as the council's waste recycling contractor Palm Recycling Ltd, agreed to collect the additional small electrical items free of charge.
The scheme has attracted attention from other authorities responsible for waste collection.
Waste strategy advisers from the Welsh government visited North Lincolnshire on Wednesday to see how the council's recycling schemes operate.