Furniture and Electrical Waste

Unwanted electricals or furniture lying around the house? Find out how to reuse or recycle them.

Whether it’s old mobile phones, old power tools, beat up sofas or simply a broken kettle or toaster, all your unwanted electrical items or furniture can be reused or recycled!

Visit our ‘Donate Locally’ page to find out where may accept your electricals and furniture. Some places even offer free collection!

You can also take furniture to some charity shops like the British Red Cross, and small items may be accepted at your local charity shop.

Many Household Waste Recycling Centres in Devon have Reuse Shops on site, where unwanted items can be taken to find new homes elsewhere.

Electrical Items

So what electrical items can you recycle? Below are a few examples ranging from angle grinders to VCRs!

High-Tech Electronical Devices

• Phones, mobile phones, remote controls, chargers, radios, VCRs, digi-boxes, speakers, hi-fi units, electronic toys and more

Personal Care

• Hairdryers, hair straighteners, electric toothbrushes, hair trimmers, shavers, hair curlers, facial saunas, power showers and more

Small kitchen appliances

• Kettles, toasters, irons, blenders, smoothie makers, sandwich toasters, coffee machines, food processors, bread makers, electric scales and more

DIY and garden electricals

• Drills, power tools, garden shears, strimmers, sanders, angle grinders, chainsaws, lawnmowers, garden sprinklers and more

Where can I recycle my unwanted electricals?

Recycling electricals in your area:

• Visit Recycle Your Electricals to find out where your nearest electrical waste recycling facility is.
• If you are unsure about which district your address falls under you can check on this postcode checker then visit our recycling collections page for your council’s information.

Furniture Items

• Yes, wooden furniture and other household furniture items can be recycled too! Visit your local recycling facility to deposit any unusable furniture. (Leather and synthetic items can not be recycled).
• Tried selling it? If not, try selling it in your local newspaper or an online market place. Also donating such items to friends, families or charities can be a great idea.
• FREEGLE: You might not need that old sofa or wheelbarrow any more – but there might be someone just round the corner who does. Or if there’s something you’d like, someone nearby might have one.  There’s just one main rule: everything posted must be FREE!
  • All groups within this organisation operate with a basic principle – all offers and requests must be Freegle (free and legal). Some groups may have additional guidelines such as no offers or requests for animals, or that items must be suitable for all ages.
  • Freegle’s aim is to keep anything reusable from going to waste. Meeting new people helps to develop local community networks and friendships in the process.
  • How it works
    • You have a washing machine you don’t need and may have to dispose of, so you join your local Freegle group, and post an OFFER on the list, seen by everyone who looks on the site or receives messages in their inbox.
    • “OFFER: washing machine (just off High St). Free washing machine available, fully working just a bit old and noisy.”
    • Interested members will reply to you privately then you choose who you would like to give it to. Between you, you arrange for them to come and pick up the washing machine.
    • You’ve given away your machine with little effort, and you also got to meet someone new from your neighbourhood in the process.   Someone local to you who needed your unwanted machine can now use it, fix it or use parts for spares.
    • It didn’t go into landfill. Great for both you and our planet. Everyone wins!

• Refurnish Devon: Refurnish Devon provides a support, advocacy and networking service to community furniture and electrical appliance re-use organisations in Devon. It also serves to develop new reuse projects and facilities that address the new WEEE (Waste Electrical & Electrical Equipment) legislation.  Refurnish Devon is a not-for-profit social business working in Devon and the South West. Its three principle aims are to:
• Protect the environment through the collection, reuse and recycling of household and commercial waste.
• Alleviate poverty, by supplying safe, clean and affordable goods to people on low incomes.
• Provide training, employment and volunteering opportunities for a variety of people, and groups, including those who have been unemployed long term and/or have support needs.

To find out more about Refurnish Devon click here or telephone 01752 897311

The Reuse Network

• The Reuse Network is the national co-ordinating body for 400 furniture and appliance re-use and recycling organisations in the UK that collect a wide range of household items to pass onto people in need. They promote the re-use of unwanted furniture, household items and electrical appliances for the alleviation of need, hardship, distress and poverty. 2 million items per year are re-used and passed onto low income families. 85,000 tonnes of waste is diverted from landfill and 3000 people are working in the UK to collect and deliver furniture and appliances.