A council has been recognised for its efforts to reduce and recycle waste at the National
Recycling Awards.
Durham County Council has won Campaign of the Year for its Waste Electrical and
Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling project, which gives small electrical and battery-
operated items the chance to become something new.
The popular project, which continues to go from strength to strength, was praised by an
expert judging panel from across the recycling sector.
There are now 130 collection points across the county, offering residents the chance to
recycle items including Freeview boxes, headphones, hairdryers, irons, toasters, digital
cameras and mobile phones.
Cllr Mark Wilkes, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and climate change, said: “I would
like to congratulate everyone involved in the WEEE project. It is a fantastic achievement to
gain national recognition for this project.
“As a council, we are determined to reduce waste and this is helping us to recycle a range
of devices into something new and prevent these from being disposed of. We are
delighted that our innovative approach is leading the way. We hope other councils will
consider setting up similar schemes, helping to reduce and recycle waste on an even
larger scale.”
The council launched the scheme last year working in partnership with Valpak, AO.com
and the County Durham Furniture Help Scheme.
As part of a spin-off of the project, repair cafés are also operating at locations across the
county, at which experts are on hand to give broken items a new lease of life. The next
repair café will be at Newton Aycliffe Library on Friday 16 December, between 10am and
1pm.
For more information on the WEEE project and what can be recycled, visit
www.durham.gov.uk/weee
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