Electrical

Before disposing of an item see if it could be repaired, or reused.

On the purchase of a new appliance, some shops allow old appliances to be returned to the store or will collect on delivery of a new appliance. Contact the shop in advance to see whether they will accept your appliances.

All electrical items that fall under the Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment Regulations must be disposed of using a Registered Waste Carrier (see below for items covered by the Regulations). There are a number of ways to dispose of your electrical waste, you can:

Ask the retailer if they will take the products back

Take old appliances to your local household waste recycling centres

Arrange for an electrical retailed delivering new equipment to take away the old appliance.

Important: Householders are now covered by the Duty of Care, so you must ensure you only pass your waste to a Registered Waste Carrier.

Island Waste Services will collect residential WEEE only, for which a charge is made, call 01983 821234. For commercial disposal contact Jadestone on 01983 854871.

You can tell which products are covered by the directive, by looking out for the crossed out wheeled bin symbol. From 1 April 2007, all new electrical products placed on the market must have this symbol. However many producers have been using this symbol for some time now, so you may already spot it on products you already own.

The following types of household electrical and electronic equipment are covered by the WEEE Regulations. They are products that need electricity for their main function. So for example, a gas cooker with a small electrical clock would not be WEEE, because the main function (cooking) is not electrical.

Large household appliances, e.g. washing machines, freezers.

Small household appliances, e.g. vacuum cleaners, sewing machines.

IT and telecommunications equipment, e.g. computers, keyboards and mobile phones.

Consumer equipment, e.g. radios, TVs.

Lighting equipment, (excluding filament light bulbs and household light fittings and lamps).

Electrical and electronic tools e.g. electric drills, electric saws.

Toys, leisure and sports equipment, e.g. electric train sets, video game consoles etc

If the appliance is still in working order it could be reused.. If the appliance is broken please bring it to one of the household waste recycling centre free of charge.

Alternatively, Island Waste offers a bulky waste collection, this service is chargeable. Or you can make arrangements with another waste management company found in the yellow pages.

Special arrangements are in place for fridges and freezers, see below.

Car batteries should be taken to one of the household waste recycling centre, or they can be recycled at Clifton Scrap Yard, Newport road.

Domestic batteries such as AA, AAA, watch batteries, etc can be placed with your general household rubbish – however retailers who sell batteries are required to take them back for recycling; household waste recycling centres also accept these batteries for recycling. To minimise the use of batteries, use the mains power wherever possible and invest in rechargeable batteries.

Commerical CDs (not home-made) can be reused. through charity shops, freecycle, or try selling them at car-boot sales, or through online sellers such as e-bay.

Unwanted CDs can also be used as bird deterrence in the garden when hung up around vegetable plots etc. or reused as drinks coasters.

All items that fall under the Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment Directive have to be disposed of at an authorised treatment facility, see general information above.

Please take all computers that are no longer fit for use, free of charge, to the Lynnbottom household waste recycling centre

Working computer games can be reused.. Some stores now operate systems to re-sell used computer games, ask your local store if they will trade your used games; sell them yourself through online sellers or car boot sales, or donate them through freecycle or charity shops.

Monitors and televisions fall under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations and must be disposed of household waste recycling centre.

The disposal of fridges and freezers is governed by both the Ozone Depleting Substances Regulations by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations. Fridges and freezers contain CFCs as a coolant - which needs to be removed and disposed of safely. The metal can also be taken for recycling too.

If you are able, you can take your old fridge or freezer household waste recycling centre free of charge.

Alternatively, we can arrange for your unit to be collected for £20 + VAT.

Fluorescent tubes are regarded as a hazardous waste, and must be disposed of household waste recycling centre.

Never place a fluorescent tube in with household waste.

If you need your fluorescent tubes collected (non-commercial only) contact Island Waste Services on 01983 821234
N.B. A charge will be made for collection.

Refilling ink cartridges using a refill kit is much cheaper than buying a new cartridge. Contact your local computer store to see if they offer a refill service.

Many charities also now collect used ink cartridges, including Scope www.scope.org.uk ,the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation www.roycastle.org , and the Isle of Wight Hospice 01983 528989.

Light bulbs aren't currently recycled as the filaments can contaminate the recycling process.
Blown or broken light bulbs should be placed in your rubbish bin. For safety reasons wrap the bulb / broken glass in newspaper to protect the collection crew.

Try to buy energy efficient light bulbs, especially for places where you leave the lights on for long periods. These will last much longer than a standard light bulb and use much less energy, saving you money in the long run.

Fluorescent tubes can not be placed with your household waste. See fluorescent tubes above, for more information.

Mobile phones and their associated accessories can be recycled using various take back schemes:

Tesco’s offer a take back scheme for recycling your old mobile phone, offering vouchers depending on the age of the phone. Ask for details and for an envelope at the mobile phone help desk in store for more details, or call 08456779586.

A nation wide mobile phone take back scheme called Fonebak was launched in September 2002. Visit: www.fonebak.com for more information.

Unwanted mobile phone handsets and accessories can be handed directly to over 1200 retail outlets throughout the UK in O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone stores.

Alternatively, you can collect a Freepost envelope from the following stores - Virgin Mobile, V.Shop, Virgin Megastores, Currys, Dixons, The Link, PC World - and send your unwanted handset and accessories to the Fonebak recycling centre. Or you can contact a customer care centre and order an envelope directly from the following companies - Virgin Mobile, Orange, Currys, Dixons, The Link or PC World.

'Mobile phones 4 charity' is another scheme where phones and their accessories can be recycled and reused and raise funds for charity at the same time. Visit www.phones4charity.co.uk. Also, the Isle of Wight Hospice 01983 528989, and SCOPE collect mobile phones and PDAs - www.recyclingappeal.com.

These can be reused. by donating them to hospital radio stations, playgroups, schools and charity shops, or freecycle, or try selling them at car boot sales

In working order these can be reused. or broken, they can be disposed of with your general rubbish.

See appliances above.