Black Friday, taking place on Friday, 25 November could be the perfect opportunity to upgrade your TV, buy those super smooth hair straighteners or replace your tired washing machine. While lots of people will be taking advantage of the too-good-to-be-true sales, the recycling team is reminding residents to dispose of their old, unwanted electricals responsibly.
The council will be using its green is the new black campaign for the second year to help raise awareness about reusing and recycling electrical items. Joining the conversation is easy, simply follow @ealingcouncil on Twitter on Saturday, 26 November and add the hashtags #greenisthenewblack and #GreenSaturday to your posts and find out more ways you can recycle in the borough.
Broken and unwanted waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) can be recycled at one of the council’s 12 sites. Old or broken toasters, kettles, laptops, plugs, phones, computer parts and leads can all be recycled in the WEEE banks. They can also be left at the council’s re-use and recycling centres in Greenford and Acton along with larger items such as computers, vacuum cleaners and televisions.
Bulky household appliances such as fridges, washing machines and freezers can be disposed of for free at Greenford Road Re-use and Recycling Centre. You can also request a special bulky waste collection from your home if you have up to eight items that are too big for normal household waste collections, but of a size and weight that two people can carry. Collections cost £40 for up to eight items and £25 per fridge or freezer.
‘Don’t have tech hangover’
Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for transport, environment and leisure said: “When Black Friday is over and you look around delighted with the amazing deals you’ve got – don’t allow yourself to wake up on Saturday with a tech hangover. Use #GreenSaturday to make sure you do the right thing by the old items you used to love and help them find a new home or make sure they’re properly recycled.
“Some broken items like mobile phones, computers and old irons contain valuable metals such as steel,
gold and platinum; all of which can be extracted and used again, but if electrical items end up in landfill, they can leak hazardous substances causing soil and water contamination. There are lots of charities like Furnish that would be happy to help re-home old appliances including unwanted televisions or washing machines.”
