Liz gets the children recycling electricals

“Involve your children in recycling – they question why I am holding onto stuff.”

Liz Pigott is a primary school teacher who lives in south London with her husband and three children.

Q: What issues do you care about? 

A: We’re really into recycling – the kids are really involved. My eldest son’s job is to take out the recycling each week to earn his pocket money. He also makes sure his younger brothers know which recycling goes into which bin. 

And the children learn a lot about recycling at school, including conservation. They’re very interested in animals and conservation. Black Lives Matter is also key to them.  

Q: Why do you recycle? 

A: To stop waste and reduce our carbon footprint – and it’s a good thing to do. People throw things away so easily that could be reused. It’s important to do it to conserve natural resources. 

As a teacher, recycling is a significant part of the curriculum at school. Schools have taken it on board so it’s just normal for the children to recycle paper and packaging.

Q: Do you recycle any of your old electricals?  

A: We have only started doing it recently because of the Recycle Your Electricals campaign. Prior to this we had a lot hoarded in the loft because we didn’t know where to take it.  

Q: How many old electricals do you have in your house that you don’t currently use?

A: Around 40 that we don’t use.  

Q: What types of electricals do you keep in your home, and why?

A: We did the Recycle Your Electricals Treasure Hunt to dig out our old electricals – including consoles, iPads, record players, an old VCR, a broken lawn mower, strimmers, irons, cables, broken radios, shavers, quite a few old laptops, and three phones.   

We’re now going to find our nearest recycling point, and take them down to be recycled – and create some space in our loft. 

Q: What stopped you from recycling all your old electricals? 

A: Not having an easy way to do it – there wasn’t a simple place to take our electricals. Also, we were holding onto old electricals such as an ipod because of the memories it holds.   

Q: Any top tips for recycling electricals? 

• Involve your children – they help you see things in a new light, as they question why I am holding onto stuff. And they think it’s fun.
• Put unwanted electricals aside in a bag, as it keeps it at the forefront of your mind.
• Accumulate a collection of them, fill up the bag to save lots of trips – similar to recycling clothes. Make it an active choice to take it to the recycling centre.
• Raise awareness of the campaign through your local friends, neighbours and forums.