Cambridge event recycles 20 tonnes of e-waste

April 26th, 2016

A total of 20.64 tonnes of e-waste was collected for recycling at our Cambridge event. Well done to all those who participated.

Cambridge residents, businesses, colleges and students leapt into action at the annual e-waste recycling event, at the University of Cambridge’s Sidgwick Site, on 29th February and 1st March 2016. A total of 20.64 tonnes of e-waste was collected for recycling. The event is organised each year to raise awareness of the need to recycle electronic equipment and to provide an opportunity for local businesses to recycle broken or unwanted equipment for free.

Now in its fifth year, the event is hosted by Cambridge Business Improvement District (BID), Cambridge City Council, European Recycling Platform (ERP), and the University of Cambridge. To date, the five events have collected over 120 tonnes of broken or unwanted electronics for recycling, recovering many tonnes of plastic, iron, copper and other valuable resources in the process.

All items will be treated in the UK to recover the metals and plastics which they contain, and the recovered materials will be used by manufacturers to make new products.

Residents in Cambridge can recycle their e-waste for free at any time. Visit cambridge.gov.uk/recyclingpoints to find your nearest recycling bank for small appliances or household waste recycling centre for larger items, or contact the council via email: wasteandstreets@cambridge.gov.uk or telephone: 01223 458282.

Cllr Peter Roberts, Executive Councillor for Environment and Waste, Cambridge City Council, commented: “I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all residents and businesses that took part and made the event such a success. The weight collected proves how popular this event has become in the community. It also highlights the importance of recycling e-waste items that cannot be placed in regular bins.

Peter Lumb, University of Cambridge Environmental Coordinator, said: “I am delighted that this year’s event on our Sidgwick Site proved such a success in helping encourage University staff, students, as well as local residents to recycle their e-waste. It’s clear that the event had a big impact, as over the two days we collected more e-waste than would normally be recycled in a year by over 2,500 people!

Becky Burrell, Marketing and Commercial Manager for Cambridge BID stated: “We are absolutely thrilled with this year’s event and delighted that over the last five years we have seen 120 tonnes of electronic waste recycled rather than end up in a landfill. Working with ERP, the University of Cambridge and Cambridge City Council enables us to get the message far and wide and encourage as many businesses and individuals to use the free recycling event. We look forward to working with you all again in 2017.

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