BUSINESSES are being urged to responsibly re-use, recycling and dispose of unwanted electrical items in the Stroud district.

From June 23 until July 7 small to medium businesses will be able to contact Stroud District Council to arrange for any non-hazardous small waste electrical and electronic items to be collected and taken to an approved waste processor.

Cllr Simon Pickering, chairman of Stroud District Council’s environment committee, said this type of waste was the fastest growing waste stream in the UK, growing by at least five per cent a year.

“This trial is aimed at raising awareness among businesses about the importance of recycling electrical and electronic goods safely and responsibility,” he said.

Every year an estimated two million tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) items are discarded by householders and companies in the UK, enough to fill Wembley stadium six times over.

The types of items which will be collected as part of this initiative include old computers, keyboards, mice, desktop scanners and printers (with ink and toner removed).

Heaters, fans, phones (excluding mobile phones), kettles, toasters and calculators can also be chucked.

Cllr Pickering added: “We’ll take away the items and send them away for processing. Some of them might be reused, reconditioned, broken down for spare parts, broken down into recyclable material, or disposed of.

“Either way, we’ll ensure that they are dealt with responsibly and safely.

“It’s also an opportunity to remind householders that we have WEEE collection points at the seven recycling banks around the district where they can take small electrical and electronic items for recycling.”

Local businesses can call the council on 01453 754424 or email public.space@stroud.gov.uk for more information and to book their WEEE collection.