An electrical recycling firm is launching an initiative to help lower the number of electrical goods going to landfills.
Hilsea-based Southern Electrical Recycling (SER) is launching a scheme to encourage more people to recycle their tech rather than keeping it untouched in drawers or throwing it away with household waste.
The family-run company is introducing a Recycling Week in schools throughout the area, where they would give the school a box and encourage pupils and teachers to fill it with their unwanted electronic equipment.
Most items that have a plug or use a battery will be accepted.
The team at SER will then collect the items, taking them back to the base in Highgrove Industrial Park for sorting.
The items will then be dismantled and destroyed or recycled into reusable assets via the on-site electrical repair workshop.
The school will then receive a receipt for the items received, with a full report of how it was disposed of.
Coowners Gary Dalton and David Edwards decided to introduce the scheme due to the number of materials they see going to landfills due to a lack of education.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, around two million tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment – also known as WEEE – are discarded by households and companies in the UK every year.
David said: ‘A lot of electrical equipment contains toxic materials such as mercury, that when buried in the ground, will go on to pollute the air. I’m no tree hugger, but it’s common sense to protect the earth, whether for our benefit right now or our children and grandchildren.
‘As well as this there are a lot of expensive materials such as gold and even palladium that are in laptops, which will be getting buried in the ground forever.’
The company is looking for schools and businesses to sign up for Recycling Week, and interested people can enquire at de.serecycling@gmail.com.
For tech such as laptops and computers that do work, Shaping has the Digital Enablement Programme, which aims to provide access to technology and support to students & vulnerable adults that will enable the students to continue digital learning from home and allow the adults to stay digitally connected with family and friends and assist in their daily routine, like online shopping, prescription ordering and job applications.