Recycling bins for old toasters and mobiles

The council hopes it will stop people dumping their used tech items

Residents in a town are being urged to recycle old electrical and battery-powered items, such as toasters and mobile phones.

Seven pink recycling banks have sprung up across Chorley for small appliances like laptops or kettles.

They can be any age and do not even have to be working and can be recycled even if they have a plug, battery or cable, the council said.

The Recycle Chorley project hopes it will be an easy option to get rid of unwanted electricals which could be repaired or rejuvenated.

Drop-off points have been set up at locations including shopping centres and libraries in a scheme funded by Material Focus, a not-for-profit organisation which has given £7,000 to Chorley Council to support an electrical recycling drive.

An average of 30 electricals are hidden away in drawers in UK homes – a total of 880 million items across the UK, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said, adding that when people do de-clutter many would simply throw them out.

Councillor Adrian Lowe said it was "really important" to offer an electricals recyling service in Chorley.

“There are literally thousands of items that are thrown away each year that can be recycled," he said.

“We want to encourage residents that recycling is the responsible way to dispose of small electrical items, many have valuable components that can be reused as well as repurposing parts, we hope this scheme will encourage a new approach to recycling in the future.”

Chorley has the highest recycling rate of any of the 14 council areas in Lancashire – with 46% of household waste sent for recycling, reuse or composting during 2022/23, the council said.