Recycling - Links and further information

Kerbside boxes - many councils now have these schemes as the government puts pressure on them to meet EU targets. If you live in a block or on an estate then it is more than likely that there are recycling facilities on site. Contact your council if not.

It seems to me that the EU is reassuringly serious about what happens to our waste materials. Although it's not always clear whether the UK government is equally serious. It is pretty sad that we beat only Greece and Portugal in the recycling stakes. The UK future targets are 25% by 2005 (we currently only recycle 17% of our waste), 30% by 2010 and 33% by 2015.

Here's an example of the process and here's some information on what happens to the rubbish that our homes and offices produce.

Friends of the Earth (again) have a great deal of information on recycling, from briefing notes, to press releases to plain old advice. In fact, looking around the FoE website, I rather wish I'd stopped there first. Have a look at this page for a comprehensive list of links to recycling information.

Of course, it's not just households that contribute to landfill. In fact, many people think that companies should be made more responsbile for the packaging that they produce. The EU, and thus the UK government, has set targets for companies to accept responsibility for recycling their packaging. Waste prevention is being pushed alongside recycling.

It's also not just everyday household waste that should be recycled. Your old mobiles, computers, printer cartridges, clothes, books etc. can all be recycled or reused. Have a look at the links below or the FoE website above.

Envocare is a great website which "was conceived, and will continue to be developed, as a central source of data on friendly environmental matters." This will save me some time I imagine. They have a great deal of information and links to where you can get your computers and printer cartridges recycled. Have a look around the whole site for all kinds of data and hints.

Even though Envocare does have a pretty comprehensive list there are some other sites about computer and general recycling, that I came across before this one, and it seems a shame to waste the research time.

Oxfam

Waste Online has a list of computer recyclers that cover specific areas of the country.

Waste Care and Shred Fast are very much business to business organisations, but perhaps your company is looking to get rid of a load of IT equipment.

UKIT Recycling is a firm based in Shropshire but covers the entire country. An interesting claim I spotted on their site was their 0% landfill commitment.

Computer Aid donate computers to African schools. They have certain specifications for equipment but are also in great need of keyboards, mice and cables.

Finally, Green Choices has a fantastic list of links which are sorted by the product to be recycled, including Christmas trees and paint. It also has some scary information, such as the fact that the average household produces a tonne of rubbish every year.

As I come across more sites and information I will update and republish this post.