Council Urges Residents to Join 'The Great Cable Challenge' this International E-Waste Day

On October 14, residents are invited to take part in 'The Great Cable Challenge', a nationwide initiative aiming to reclaim the millions of unused cables hidden away in households, giving them a new purpose and helping to reduce e-waste.

Did you know that 37% of us check for unused electricals less than once a year?

The challenge is a perfect opportunity to unearth those old, unused cables and breathe new life into the valuable materials they contain especially copper.

This versatile metal can be recycled and transformed into vital components for new technologies, such as wind turbines, mobile phones, laptops, and more.

Councillor Emma Stokes, Worcestershire County Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “We’re all guilty of hoarding old electrical items, whether we’ve forgotten they’re hidden away in a drawer or we simply don’t know how to dispose of them. If your electrical items still work, consider giving them a second life by selling or donating them to charity or online groups like Freecycle or Freegle.

If they’re broken, why not visit one of the repair cafés in Worcestershire?

And if they’re beyond repair, you can always recycle them at any of Worcestershire’s Household Recycling Centres. It’s all about conserving valuable resources and ensuring these items get reused, repaired, or recycled. Let’s all check the back of those drawers and do our bit!”

The campaign shines a spotlight on our so-called 'drawers of doom'—those hidden treasure troves of unused electricals and tangled cables we’ve all got tucked away.

Research by Recycle Your Electricals found that 39% of households hoard small electrical items, with over 28% of people feeling frustrated or even embarrassed by the mess.

From charging cables to old tech accessories, anything with a plug, battery, or cable can be recycled. And if you're unsure what cables belong to what, Recycle Your Electricals has even created a Cable Guide, packed with visuals of the 35 most common cables to help you match them with their original devices. If the devices or cables are no longer needed, bag them up and recycle them. 

You can view the guide and get sorting on the Recycle Your Electricals website.

So, let’s get digging through those drawers! Together, we can reduce e-waste, conserve valuable resources, and give those forgotten cables a second chance to power our future.

For more information on where to recycle locally, visit the Let's Waste Less website.