Recycling plea for unwanted goods by Shropshire Council

Residents in Shropshire are being urged to recycle unwanted electrical or electronic goods and try to reduce food waste over the festive season.

On average about £50 of food is wasted per household per month so smaller portion sizes should be considered, Shropshire Council said.

People should take unwanted goods to household recycling sites in Oswestry Shrewsbury, Whitchurch and Bridgnorth.

Most items with batteries or a plug can be recycled under UK law.

'Regularly recycles'

Joy Blizzard, waste initiatives officer at the council said people should think twice before preparing food that will just end up going to waste.

Waste items can be dismantled into raw materials and put to new uses, the council said.

An iron contains enough steel to make 13 food cans and plastic recycled from small household appliances like kettles can potentially be re-used in games consoles or hairdryers, the spokesman added.

Donald Macphail, from Veolia Environmental Services in Shropshire, said: "Almost everyone now regularly recycles some kind of household waste but, despite the fact we use a multitude of gadgets in our daily lives, few of us are aware of how easily we can recycle old electricals."