Recycling electrical items

Recycling electrical items

Free small electricals collection service

It’s easier than ever to recycle your broken or unwanted small electrical items in Newcastle.

We have started a new trial to offer a free doorstep collection of small electricals to some domestic households in the city. If you live in the city and have a ground floor accessible front door you are eligible to take part in the trial.

It’s as easy as 1,2,3.

  1. Bag up your broken and unwanted small electricals into a plastic carrier bag.
  2. Book your free small electricals collection online
  3. Place your filled plastic carrier bag at your front door before 8am on your collection date.

Do not place any electrical items for collection inside or on top your bin.

Our team will collect your bag of small electricals using our electric fleet to reduce the impact on the environment.

Please use this opportunity to fill a bag with all your household’s broken and unwanted small electricals, including loose cables, remotes and other items.

Small electricals we will collect include:

  • small kitchen appliances – such as kettles, toasters, irons, blenders, smoothie makers, sandwich toasters, coffee machines, food processors, bread makers, electric scales
  • cables and accessories – headphones, phone chargers, extension leads, keyboards, USB plugs
  • DIY and power tools - drills, electric screwdrivers, sanders
  • home office equipment - printers, scanners, calculator
  • home accessories - baby monitors, smoke alarms, Christmas lights, torches
  • game consoles and controllers
  • vapes
  • high-tech electronic devices – remote controls, radios, VCRs, digi-boxes, speakers, hi-fi units, electronic toys
  • personal care items – hairdryers, hair straighteners, electric toothbrushes, hair trimmers, shavers, hair curlers, facial saunas, power showers

Items larger than a plastic carrier bag will not be collected using this service. 

If you need larger electricals collected:

Please remove batteries before placing out for collection and recycle. Did you know that you should never put unwanted batteries in any kind of bin, as sometimes batteries can cause fires if not disposed of correctly as well as harming the environment. 

You can recycle batteries at local shops and supermarkets.

Anything with a cable, plug or battery can be recycled. 

Recycling helps to save natural resources and the environment. If you do not recycle electrical equipment it may end up in landfill where hazardous substances will leak out and cause soil and water contamination – harming wildlife and also human health. Sometimes electrical items can cause fires if not disposed of correctly.

Please do not place small electrical items in your blue or green bin.

Taking small electricals to a recycling centre

Remember you can still recycle your small electrical items along with the items listed below at your local household waste recycling centre.

What do sites accept for recycling?WalbottleBrunswickByker
Batteries (domestic)YesYesYes
Batteries (vehicle)YesNoYes
Electrical and electronic equipmentYesYesYes
Fluorescent tubes and low energy bulbsYesYesYes
FridgesYesNoNo
Televisions and monitors (CRTs)YesYesYes
White goods/domestic appliances (not including fridges)YesYesYes

Other ways to recycle your electricals

If your property isn’t eligible for our new bookable doorstep collection, and you cannot visit one of our three recycling centres, you can still recycle your electricals.

Pop up recycling centres

We are holding a number of Pop up Recycling Centre events which are being rolled out in all wards of the city. 

You will receive information through your door when our event comes to your locality, and you can access the service on foot and by car.  These events will also allow you to recycle larger electrical items 

If an event is not happening near you, for a fee you can:

Small electrical collection points

We also have small electrical collection points available at:

More information and advice

For more information, advice about the kinds of electrical items you can recycle and help on finding participating local shops and schemes see:

You could also look at selling or trading in electrical items. You can do this via online auctions, trading websites or some second-hand goods stores. This can help the environment and your pocket.

Re-using your unwanted items

If you have unwanted electrical items that are safe and in good working order, why not get them re-used?

This can be cheaper than a bulky collection and can also help families or individuals in need. This also helps the environment and the wider community as well as your pocket!

Please note these are separate organisations to Newcastle City Council and we are not responsible for content on their websites.

OrganisationContact Number
Orange Box0191 2242116
CT Furniture0800 9174397
British Heart Foundation (BHF)0808 2500130
Saint Oswald's Hospice0191 2468123

Did you know?

Most people know that they can recycle some electrical items from their homes, but do you really know just how much more you can recycle? Did you know that you should never throw batteries in any kind of bin?

To remind you that old electrical equipment can be recycled, it is marked with the crossed-out wheelie bin symbol. Please do not throw any electrical equipment (including those marked with this symbol) in your bin:

Symbol found on electrical items saying do not throw in bins

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