Angus Council is celebrating after scooping several awards for its outstanding levels of collection and recycling of Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE).
Angus Council works in partnership with REPIC, the UK's largest not-for-profit producer compliance scheme, to responsibly recycle residents' end-of-life electrical and electronic goods - everything from kettles and toasters, to fridges and TVs. Through the partnership, the WEEE is collected from Angus Council's Designated Collection Facilities (DCFs) and transported to an authorised facility in the UK for treatment.
Angus Council has seven DCFs across the region, and has already received six gold awards, one silver and one bronze award this year for collecting a larger amount of WEEE per head of population than any other REPIC aligned authority.
Dr Philip Morton, CEO of REPIC comments: "Throughout 2010, Angus Council has consistently been one of our highest performing partner authorities when it comes to WEEE collection rates.
"It's really important that WEEE is recycled responsibly, end-of-life electronic and electrical equipment can end up at landfill sites, which is damaging to the environment. It may even find its way into the hands of illegal traders who unlawfully export the WEEE to Africa or other developing countries, with a potentially devastating social and environmental impact. The more WEEE we can capture and recycle, the less chance there is of this happening. So, from all here at REPIC, we'd like to say congratulations to Angus Council on the fantastic achievement, and keep up the good work!"
REPIC is committed to forging direct relationships with Local Authorities to keep the WEEE recycling trail as short and auditable as possible, and therefore minimising leakage or illegal exporting.
Talking about how Angus Council has achieved its consistently high performance, councillor Colin Brown, vice-convener of Neighbourhood Services at Angus Council comments: "Excellent site management and clearly designated areas for WEEE items within our recycling centres has made it easier for householders in Angus to recycle their electrical equipment, which has helped us to achieve this outstanding recycling accomplishment."