Portsmouth households: Where to find your free drop off points for the E-Waste Amnesty Week

Waste not want not: Let your old gadgets and small electricals help those in need, and boost recycling rates. Supplied picture

Kick start 2024 with a clean slate, thanks to Portsmouth’s first E-Waste Amnesty Week.

The people have spoken and Repair Café Portsmouth has listened … now there’s a chance to responsibly declutter unwanted electricals over the next few days, helping boost the city’s recycling rates.

There are moves afoot by the UK government to potentially change kerbside recycling to include small electrical items, and Portsmouth is already ahead of the game on this. But according to the team at the Repair Café Portsmouth, which is run by Share (Portsmouth), local residents want to go a step further – 64 per cent of them said as well as ease of access, they wanted unused electrical items to be repurposed to help others, rather than being recycled or incinerated.

First ever E-Waste Amnesty

Find your free drop off points for the Portsmouth E-Waste Amnesty Week. Supplied

In response, Repair Café Portsmouth has set up the first ever E-waste Amnesty Week in Portsmouth, which runs from Monday, January 8 to Sunday, January 14.

Six local charities and organisations across the city have created drop off spots, where people can drop end-of-life items for recycling, or allow the good causes to sell working or fixable unwanted items to help raise funds.

Whether you’ve upgraded your kettle, got a toastie maker gathering dust on top of your kitchen units, a printer with no ink in your home office, or an old phone in a drawer, the E-waste Amnesty Week could turn your leftovers into somebody’s much needed gadget, or a fixer upper for a tech-minded DIYer.

Why now?

The UK is the second largest producer of e-waste in the world, and vast quantities are cluttering our homes. Research carried out by Material Focus last year estimated 880 million unused electric items are in the country, with the average UK household cluttered by unwanted charging cables, discarded mobile phones and old remote controls.

Portsmouth residents say that cables, phones and tablets top their ‘no longer needed’ junk list. Share (Portsmouth) are working hard to repurpose old electronics, thanks to funding from Virgin Media O2 and Hubbub, which includes creating an online map of repair, sell, donate and recycle hotspots across the city.

And after 50 per cent of respondents saying what was holding them back from recycling was good local access, the map, coupled with the E-Waste Amnesty Week could help find new homes for unwanted things.

Make a difference

“January is a perfect time to have a clear out and help others”, said Clare Seek, founder of Share (Portsmouth). “Many of us start a New Year with aspirations to create new habits, set intentions, or simply have got to make space for new items that we’ve received over Christmas. We hope that everyone will take 10 minutes to check through drawers, under beds, in cupboards and lofts for their unused phones, cables, toasters etc, and will then drop items to the charities that we’ve highlighted for the week, or any of the others that are listed on our website.

“It’s a win-win for everyone, with you decluttering, charities being able to raise more funds for the great work they do in our communities, and keeping our electrical items lasting longer, or elements being recycled.”

Where can I donate to the E-Waste Amnesty Week?

Find your local drop off point and opening hours at www.tinyurl.com/PortsmouthEwasteAmnesty

Those taking part include Revitalise in PO1, Naomi House in PO2, Southern Electric Recycling in PO3, The Rainbow Centre in PO4 and Salvation Army in PO5 & PO6.

Find out more about the work of Share (Portsmouth) here.