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Material Focus launches £2.5m WEEE collection fund

Material Focus announced yesterday (30 November) it has launched a £2.5 million fund to support organisations looking to test “creative and practical methods” of collecting unwanted electricals.

Examples of projects eligible for Material Focus's funding include adding cages for WEEE under RCVs

Not-for-profit organisation Material Focus is funded by the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) compliance fee and behind the UK-wide Recycle Your Electricals campaign.

The ‘Electricals Recycling Fund’ will finance two types of project: those seeking to grow or develop existing household collection services for small WEEE and those seeking to innovate new collection methods.

A range of organisations are eligible to apply, including local authorities, waste collection authority areas, waste contractors, reuse organisations, NGOs, producer compliance schemes, retailers and start-ups. Individuals are not eligible.

Scott Butler, Material Focus’s executive director, said: “This fund provides an exciting opportunity to make it easier for millions more people to recycle their electricals from their doorsteps and to test innovative ways to tackle one of the fastest growing waste streams in the UK and globally.

“We are really looking forward to working with a range of organisations on finding some interesting and innovative solutions that will increase recycling electricals in the UK.”

The deadline for expressions of interest is 31 January 2023 and Material Focus says they will review applicants’ forms and get back to them with a decision within four weeks of the closing date. Material Focus hopes for applicants to be ready to implement their projects during 2023.

Projects

Organisations can apply for up to £100,000 of funding for projects that aim to grow or improve existing household waste and recycling collection services.

Scott Butler is Material Focus’s executive director

Examples of projects such as these include adding cages under refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) or dedicating a compartment in a Romaquip vehicle to collect electricals.

Organisations can also apply for up to £50,000 for projects that aim to innovate or test new approaches to collect electricals for reuse and recycling. Material Focus says it may consider further funding should the project demonstrate “value for money and significant impact”.

Examples of projects which could receive this funding include collections of WEEE using the return journey during the delivery of parcels or using new, low energy, low CO2 modes of transport such as e-cargo bikes.

Material Focus says it is offering the funding to test and learn from “what has worked”. The success of the projects will be measured via metrics such as how many households gain access to “very low-cost” household collections they did not have before or the tonnes and numbers of items reused and recycled.

The funding is not aimed at supporting one-off collection events like amnesties, ‘mega-skips’ or repair workshops, Material Focus says.

WEEE

WEEE is the “fastest growing waste stream in the world”, Material Focus says. The not-for-profit organisation says people in the UK hoard 527 million electrical items and throw away 155,000 tonnes each year.

Research conducted by Material Focus found that 80% of people think recycling their electricals is “the right thing to do”, but only 45% think it is “easy”.

Approximately 15% households currently receive kerbside collections, Material Focus says, while others can drop their electricals off at local authority points.

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