Scrap dealers beating council binmen to profitable recycling goods
A potentially lucrative council-run scheme to recycle electrical goods has failed to take off because the items are being taken by scrap metal dealers before the binmen arrive.
Cannock Chase Council launched the scheme with the aim of improving its recycling record and making some money into the bargain.
Items covered by the collection include old kettles, clocks, hairdryers, electronic toys, toasters, telephones, microwave ovens, lawnmowers and power tools.
The goods are collected during normal bin rounds and deposited in a special container hooked to the back of bin lorries.
But early-bird scrap dealers have thwarted the council's plans by getting there first and clearing the pavements on collection days before the council lorries appear.
Councillor Brian Bottomer, chairman of the environmental policy development committee, said the authority was disappointed by the results.
He said even his own electrical waste which had been put out for the council binmen had been taken by scrap dealers.
"We haven't lost any money by it but we haven't made any either," he said.
"Electrical recycling is the most lucrative of all the recycling that a council can do do but ours has ever really got off the ground. Our vehicles were being beaten by scrap merchants. They were going round the routes and picking it up first.
"People have seen it happen. I even tied one of my bags to the handles of the bin and they still cut it off and took it."
Electronic items contain valuable material that can be reused, and recycling them is considered a far better way of disposal compared to sending them to landfill which is expensive and wasteful. Most household goods that have a plug or use batteries can be recycled.
Collections of electrical items by councils is relatively new. Stafford launched a similar scheme in April 2012 and boasted a haul of six tons in its first month.
Councillor Bottomer said said they were continuing to carry out electrical goods collections across the district.
Cannock's recycling record has soared in the last decade, with the authority shooting up the national league table to become one of the top authorities for waste recycling.
Residents are now being urged to put out more paper, bottles and cardboard for pick-up as environment chiefs believe the district's targets are 'not sufficiently ambitious.'
Bosses want to raise dry recycling targets from 240kg to 277kg a year for each household. The issue is due to be discussed by the council at a meeting on Thursday(14th).
