
Gravesham has successfully collected more than 27,000 small electricals, weighing in at 24 tonnes, for recycling, as part of the electrical bring bank project, which was launched in November 2023.
The project encouraged residents across the borough to bag up their old electricals and recycle them in one of 18 new bright pink bring banks installed across the borough, enabling almost all residents to recycle their small electricals within a one-mile radius of their homes.
Now the trial has ended, we confirm due to the success of the project, the small electrical bring banks will remain in place for residents to continue to recycle.
The project has shown how committed the local community is to recycling their small electricals when simple recycling methods are made more accessible.
The consistent local reminders from Hypnocat, the pink, fluffy mascot of Recycle Your Electricals which featured on leaflets, eye-catching posters and on social media in Gravesham have made local residents aware that anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled and turned into something new. Hypnocat will continue to keep residents aware of how and where they can recycle their electricals to encourage further recycling now that the trial has ended.
As the bring banks will remain in place, small electricals including toasters, kettles, sandwich makers, hairdryers or irons can be recycled. Find your nearest recycling point.

This is one of over 40 UK projects funded by Material Focus, the not for profit leading the Recycle Your Electricals campaign. Gravesham’s small electricals recycling project joined other projects around the country in making it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals.
The aim of the nationwide Electricals Recycling Fund is to significantly reduce e-waste and its environmental impact by making it easier for consumers to recycle their electricals. The projects that have been funded by Material Focus include a variety of recycling methods, from kerbside collections to more drop-off points in schools, community centres, and bring banks. Overall, there will be over 400 new collection points plus kerbside collections for 5.5 million UK residents.
Recycle Your Electricals research has shown that 80% of consumers believe recycling is a good thing, and many of us already recycle things like paper and plastic.
Research has also shown that most of us have unwanted electricals we want to get rid of. On average there are at least 30 electricals hidden away in drawers in UK homes, a total of 880 million items across the UK - with a simple repair many could be donated or sold to people who could put them to good use.
And yet 39% of people bin electricals, rather than recycle or reuse them leading to over 100,000 tonnes of electricals thrown away every year.
The aim of these projects is to overcome these issues by making it easier to repair, donate or recycle electricals.
Cllr Emma Morley, cabinet member for operational services, said: “To receive more than 27,000 small electrical items for recycling in just one year is an amazing result and demonstrates the appetite of our residents for recycling.
“We are grateful to Material Focus for the funding to launch this service, which will now continue as we work hard to drive up recycling rates across the borough.”
"Gravesham’s small electricals recycling project has proven that small electrical recycling is important to the area and its residents. We are delighted with how engaged and supportive the local community has been and how the investment from the Electrical Recycling Fund has enabled such a huge number of items to be recycled by this project. As e-waste is the fastest growing waste stream, we hope to continue to see a rise in the amount of electricals recycled across the UK,” said Scott Butler, Executive Director of Material Focus.