About Material Focus

We are the people leading the Recycle Your Electricals campaign.

Material Focus logo

Material Focus

Our vision is living in a world where materials are never wasted. We’re on a mission to transform the way we all think about our unwanted electricals from useless waste to valuable resources.

Delivering on the promise

 

2,500+

the number of reuse and recycling points you can now find on our Recycling Locator.

348,000+

the number of times people have used our locator to find their local reuse and recycling points

2,000,000

more people have household collections for small electricals.

£2.5 million

in grants and loans awarded to community organisations, local authorities, and recyclers to support reuse and recycling of small electricals.
 
 

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.

Investing in the network

Investment

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

Investing in the network

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.

Get involved

Our values

Illustration of hand with a heart

Warm

We encourage people to do the right thing. Transparent, fair and appreciative of others’ talents, we bring people together in partnership.

Graphic of a CFL lightbulb. Recycling lights and lightbulbs starts with finding out which type of bulb you have.

Bright

Optimistic and perceptive, we create opportunities and make the most of them. We also like to shed light on hidden issues.

Graphic of an exercise bicycle

Dynamic

We’re full of energy and ideas. Bold, progressive and enterprising, we keep moving forward, stimulating change.

Electric sewing machine graphic

Pragmatic

Practical, resourceful and realistic, if something isn’t working we’ll find another way. We don’t claim to know everything, so we forge partnerships to get things done.

Find out how to work with Material Focus

All of our income comes from the WEEE Compliance Fee. We have committed £3m to behaviour change campaigns to encourage the public to reuse and recycle unwanted electricals; £3.5m goes on technical research to tackle barriers to recycling; £3.5m to expand the network of collection and drop-off points; and £0.48m in charity sector grants to support local community organisations during this tough time. We’ve also committed almost £2m in loans to help the electrical recycling industry through Covid-19.

Material Focus and the WEEE Regulations

The UK government sets annual targets for recycling of all waste electricals, including small electricals, under the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations. If producers of electrical appliances don’t meet these targets, they contribute towards a WEEE Compliance Fee fund.

Material Focus manages this fund to support action that will increase reuse and recycling of old electricals across the UK.

More on WEEE Regulations
People working at computers

Governance and the Material Focus Board

Material Focus has a Board made up of trade associations representing the producers of electrical appliances. The Board is responsible for overseeing the work of the campaign, guiding strategy and holding the organisation to account.

An independent advisory panel provides strategic direction for the disbursement of funds collected since 2019. 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).

Our latest news

All

Harold Tillman hails Nicola Roberts dress made from electrical cables

We need this campaign – and we need to know how to recycle, says celebrated entrepreneur Tillman. Fashion guru Harold Tillman…

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All

Alex Sipa dress ‘shows how beautiful recycling can be’ says Nicola Roberts

Pop star and fashionista Nicola Roberts says the dress made for her from recycled electrical cables demonstrates the potential and…

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All

Pandora to use only recycled metals in its jewellery

Jewellery giant Pandora says it will stop using mined silver and gold in its jewellery by 2025 and buy only…

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