Don’t forget to recycle electricals, says Just Eilidh

Eilidh has the Little Spring Clean in the bag

Sustainable beauty, fashion and lifestyle author Just Eilidh (Eilidh Gallagher) was chuffed to find out – at last – how she could recycle all those old cables she had lying around the house. 

“I’m pretty good at selling and donating our unused electricals,” writes Eilidh on her blog, “but I tend to just leave anything that’s broken or I’m that unsure of.” 

And the reason she didn’t recycle electricals? “I haven’t known the best way to recycle them,” she admits. 

It’s an answer millions of us would recognise. More than 50% of people who bin their old electricals say it’s because they don’t know where or how to recycle them, according to research commissioned by Material Focus.

And it’s why an estimated 140 million unused cables are gathering dust in UK homes. Enough to wrap around the Earth five times.

The Little Spring Clean set out to change all that. And Eilidh quickly wrapped her head around the detail.

In truth the Little Spring Clean is a simple idea – just a tweak to the decluttering we’ve all been doing during Covid-19 lockdowns.

“When you are having your spring clean don’t forget about those old small electricals hiding away.”

Separate out the small old electricals. Gather them up in a bag. And finally find your nearest recycling point using our locator, or wait for collection day if your local council provides one. Easy.

Anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled – so there’s no need to put electricals in with the general household rubbish.

Just Eilidh does the Little Spring Clean

“The Little Spring Clean encouraged us to really look for those forgotten electricals,” Eilidh writes.

“Along with the many unusable cables we found old gaming handsets, a pair of broken headphones, a very old unused phone and a broken tablet,” Eilidh writes. “All are now in a bag ready to be taken to our nearest recycling point.”

In Eilidh’s case that bag is the natty tote designed by British fashion icon Zandra Rhodes for Recycle Your Electricals (main picture). 

Recycle electricals for the planet

Being able to recycle electricals – especially the small stuff that just seems to accumulate in drawers and cupboards – isn’t just about liberating ourselves from clutter. It’s good for the planet and the economy. A clincher for Eilidh.

“If you recycle electricals in the right way, almost all the materials get processed in the UK and become a valuable commodity,” she writes.

Eilidh was encouraged to learn that the materials salvaged from recycled electricals can be made into new laptops, bicycles, playground gear, even life-saving medical equipment. “The most important thing is that they don’t end up in landfill,” she writes. 

“So when you are having your spring clean don’t forget about those old small electricals hiding away. Delve into those drawers and the back of your cupboards and get recycling!”

About Just Eilidh

Eilidh started her blog Just Eilidh to record family memories, but it soon evolved into a space that covers all her passions. Follow her for posts on travel, sustainable living, health, fitness, and being a parent. In 2020 she published Green Christmas: Little changes that bring joy and help the plant (Bloomsbury).