24th September 2026
Electrical Recycling Fund commits over £565,000
Material Focus confirms 15 new pilots have been awarded funding from the 2026 Electricals Recycling Fund, with £565,031 of funding committed to projects that will make it easier for almost 2 million UK households to recycle their small electricals.
A total of 1,963,118 households will benefit from more accessible small electrical recycling options, as Material Focus research shows 880 million electrical items are held onto in UK homes – equivalent to 30 items per household.
Delivered by councils and community organisations across the UK, the pilots will see the creation of new on-street bring banks, community collection points in high footfall locations such as libraries and leisure centres, and the refurbishment of existing bring banks.
Items such as hairdryers, tablets and laptops, old kettles and cables will be accepted, helping to remove some of the practical barriers that can prevent unwanted electricals from being recycled. Many of these unwanted electricals contain valuable materials that could be recovered through recycling, while others could potentially be repaired, reused or rehomed.
The successful organisations receiving funding are:
Since the launch of the Electricals Recycling Fund, over £3.5 million has been granted to 92 pilots across the UK. Previous funding rounds have delivered more than 900 new collection points, making it easier for over 13.5 million people to recycle. These pilots have enabled more than 1,000 tonnes of small electricals to be recycled and helped 33,000 items find new homes.
The Electricals Recycling Fund is designed to test practical and scalable approaches that make recycling more visible and accessible in everyday life.
Scott Butler, Executive Director of Material Focus said, “We’re delighted to be supporting another 15 pilots through the Electricals Recycling Fund in 2026. These projects show the importance of making recycling easy, visible and convenient for people in their local communities.
“Almost two million more households will have access to improved small electricals recycling options as a result of this year’s funding. By supporting councils and community organisations to test new approaches, we can identify the solutions that work best and build a stronger network of convenient recycling options across the UK.
“There are still hundreds of millions of unwanted electricals sitting unused in UK homes. Making it easier for people to recycle or reuse these items is an important part of tackling the UK’s growing electrical waste challenge.”
The 15 confirmed projects will receive a combined £565,031 from the Electricals Recycling Fund, with co-funding from the Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS), operated by Valpak Ltd.
Ian Guest, Environmental Compliance Consultant, Valpak Limited, said:
“We are pleased to continue our support for the Electricals Recycling Fund in 2026. The programme demonstrates what can be achieved when funding is directed towards practical solutions that make it easier for people to recycle their unwanted electricals.
“These new pilots will help bring convenient recycling options closer to households across the UK, while providing valuable insight into approaches that could be replicated and scaled in the future.”
The Electricals Recycling Fund supports organisations seeking to grow or develop household collection services for small electricals and to test innovative new collection methods. Funding is available to eligible organisations including local authorities and non-profit organisations.
Cllr Shafi Ahmed, Cabinet Member for a Clean and Green Borough, Tower Hamlets, an Electrical Recycling Fun pilot scheme said:
“We’re passionate about making it easier for our residents to recycle their waste and reduce their impact on the environment. These new recycling points will provide people with a convenient way to dispose of common household electrical items responsibly.
“We’re really pleased to be part of this pilot scheme with Material Focus, and I encourage all residents to make use of these recycling points when they’re next looking to get rid of a small electrical item.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
About Material Focus
Material Focus is the UK’s leading independent non-profit tackling e-waste, and the organisation behind the award-winning Recycle Your Electricals campaign.
Electrical waste is the fastest-growing type of waste in the world. When electricals are binned or stashed away in homes, we lose some of the most critical, finite materials like lithium, copper and gold — and devices that could be helping people who need them most.
Material Focus and Recycle Your Electricals is working with organisations and the public to save these materials by providing insights and research, making it easier to recycle by funding recycling and re-use projects, and inspiring nationwide public action. The organisation is building a thriving circular electrical economy, where fixing, donating, selling and recycling electricals is the norm, and valuable materials are never wasted.
Material Focus is funded by producers of electricals through the UK’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations.
About the Electricals Recycling Fund
The Electricals Recycling Fund provides funding to councils and other eligible organisations to develop convenient, accessible and locally based ways for householders to recycle their unwanted electricals.
Since the Fund launched, more than 80 pilots have been supported, resulting in hundreds of new collection points and increased access to electricals recycling across the UK.
The Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS) is operated by Valpak Ltd and provides funding to support local authority projects that improve the collection and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment.
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