Old and broken electrical items may seem worthless, but in fact, they’re full of valuable materials

Council recycling centres collect waste electrical items, which are then taken to a reprocessing

plant, where they are shredded into small pieces, ready to be recycled.

Strong magnets are used to remove ferrous metals such a steel, whilst non magnetic metals

like aluminium parts are separated using an eddy current.

Different types of plastic are identified and can be sorted using Near Infrared light

or density separation.

Each raw material is then sent to be made into something brand new. For instance:

Zinc, found in mobile phones, could be used in ship building or for galvanizing railings

and lamp posts.

Gold found in games consoles can be made into jewellery

And plastic from lawn mowers can be used in musical instruments.

So remember: don’t bin your waste electrical item….take then down to your local recycling

centre or even better, if they work, find them a new home by getting them reused by

donating them or selling them on.

To find your nearest recycling centre visit: wasteawarenesswales.org.uk