Never before has there been so much pressure to go green. While the government dreams up new ways to encourage us – from the mooted fines for families who don’t recycle, to road tax based on carbon dioxide emissions – we also have pop stars, politicians and assorted publicity-seekers reminding us of our duty to do something.

The best, and easiest, way is to recycle more. But sometimes it’s not that simple. For example, how on earth do you safely dispose of rusting cars, old electronic equipment or the kind of items your local recycling depot simply will not take, such as polystyrene packing and ceramic tiles?

Why, you head online, of course. Here you will find services that do the dirty work for you or help with alternative means of disposal, such as donating them. There’s also crucial information about who is responsible for getting rid of certain bits of junk – it’s not always you. For example, under a new European Union regulation called the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive, which was implemented on July 1, producers (and in some cases retailers) of certain electrical items are responsible for disposing of their goods.

In the first of a two-part series, Webwise reveals the important destinations for budding recyclers. This week the focus is on white goods, smaller appliances, computer kit and motor junk; next week we take on clothes, furniture, debris from DIY work, plus things that are impossible to recycle.

THE WEEE DIRECTIVE

You would need a week to read the government’s mightily confusing information about the WEEE directive at tinyurl.com/ycas6f , but thankfully it’s all laid out more clearly at www.weeeman.org , which is run by a charity called the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (RSA).

The directive aims to reduce the amount of electronic debris going to landfill by requiring all manufacturers and producers to take responsibility for what eventually happens to the goods they sell. It covers a wide range of electrical goods, from large household appliances such as fridges, freezers and washing machines, to smaller items such as toasters. It also includes computer equipment, televisions, some light bulbs, electrical tools such as drills, and even your electric toothbrush.

The bottom line is simple: if you have an item to dispose of that you think may fall under the directive then contact your supplier for information. There’s no penalty (yet) for throwing away a WEEE product, but if you want to do your bit there are channels through which it can be recycled.

Any item covered by the directive and made after April 1, 2007, is denoted by a symbol depicting a wheelie bin with a cross through it, which means you don’t have to dump it or try to recycle it yourself (an incomplete list is at tinyurl.com/36s27c ). The retailer with responsibility for recycling an item must either take it off your hands in one of its stores, or tell you where you can properly dispose of it nearby – this will be at a so-called designated collection facility (DCF).

So, for example, if you see a wheelie bin sign on your electric drill, then when you want to get rid of it you can take it back to the retailer you bought it from. Your council is also obliged, under the directive, to help you dispose of larger WEEE items, such as washing machines and cookers. You can telephone it and arrange collection, though it is entitled to charge for this.

When you replace like-for-like electrical equipment, the retailer selling the new item must take back what you’re replacing, even if the old item is a different model or was bought from a different store. However, the retailer’s collection point may be at a DCF where you’ll have to take the item.

If you have arranged for the retailer to deliver your new equipment to your house, it may collect the old item at the same time and properly dispose of it. It’s not an obligation on the retailer but many do, including Comet, Currys and John Lewis. The cost of this collection varies between retailers, but is generally £10-£15.

Weeeman.org also gives an example of what is excluded from the directive – a gas cooker doesn’t count because it is not primarily powered by electricity (though it may have a push-button ignition that uses mains electricity).

Remember, your local council must dispose of certain items because they are classified as hazardous waste, such as fridges, which may contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), the chemicals blamed for thinning the ozone layer over the South and North Poles. This is a result of a ruling by the EU in 2002. Initially this led to mountains of old fridges amassing around the country as councils struggled to dispose of the units safely, but the government claims these mountains have subsided as the fridges have been dismantled.

HOMEWARES AND APPLIANCES

Never put your old mobile in the trash. It is a waste of its constituent platinum, gold, silver, copper and, if it contains a nickel cadmium battery, a potential cause of pollution in landfill. Instead, choose one of the many recycling options. Mobiles can be reconfigured to dial 999 only and issued to victims of domestic violence (fonesforsafety.org.uk ). Donating them to Against Breast Cancer ( tinyurl.com/2t2f46 ) means they will be sold on to raise cash for the charity’s work. Alternatively they can be exchanged for money, with you receiving the value offered and an additional 10% going to a designated charity (www.mopay.co.uk ).

There are also ways to trade in, barter or resell small electrical appliances. Recycle.co.uk is a nationwide noticeboard, divided into regions, where you can offer or request items. The service is free. Products currently wanted in London include electric blankets, a hairdryer and a lawnmower. Freecycle.org provides a similar service.

Or you could donate. The Furniture Reuse Network, the national coordinating body for recycling organisations (www.frn.org.uk ), lists groups across the country that will pass on donated items such as saucepans, irons and microwaves to low income families. An interactive map on the website will tell you where your nearest centre is. Council websites also often list local charity schemes that accept small electrical items and other goods for homeless and other vulnerable people.

COMPUTER KIT

MOTOR JUNK

Old cars don’t die. They become “end of life vehicles” and every year there are another 2m of them. Legally, these must now be disposed of at an authorised treatment facility (ATF), a kind of funeral home for vehicles. Either contact your local authority, (which may charge you to take it away), or find an ATF yourself (which may pay you).

Details of ATFs can be found at two websites, each of which represents an alliance of the main car manufacturers: www.cartakeback.com (which represents Ford, Jaguar, Volkswagen, Citroën, Renault, Peugeot, Fiat and others) and www.autogreen.org (which represents Honda, Mini, Toyota and others).

An ATF will probably take bicycles but may balk at motorbikes, which are much less valuable to recycle.

The National Caravan Council (www.nationalcaravan.co.uk) is working on the best environmental graveyard for old caravans. See www.caravanningnow.co.uk for a national list of caravan breakers.

It’s illegal to dump used tyres, which is punishable by a fine, so instead head to your nearest tyre outlet, such as a branch of Kwik Fit, which will take your tyres off your hands for a small fee. And for details of your nearest recycling centre for engine oil, see www.oilbankline.org.uk .

No one need ever dump a working computer, which is a waste of resources. Keep that old PC out of a landfill site and recycle it instead. Computer Aid International (www.computeraid.org ) is the world’s largest not-for-profit supplier of computers to developing countries, and it accepts any working Pentium III or IV computer or laptop, plus 15in and 17in monitors, adaptors, power cables, keyboards and mice. It will even take a consignment that includes 10% of broken equipment. Deliver in person (it’s based in north London) or have your kit collected from any UK address for £12.95 per box.

Donateapc.org.uk is a UK charity that offers a free “matchmaking” service where individuals can advertise their unwanted computer equipment, for others to have. Donatable items include PCs, Macs, servers, laptops, printers, scanners, digital cameras, palmtops, fax machines, photocopiers and data projectors but not software, BBC/Acorn computers, 386-based PCs or dot matrix printers.

But a word of caution: be sure to wipe the hard drive of any PC you donate or recycle, otherwise you may be giving other people access to sensitive information. Simply deleting files or reformatting is not enough, since they can be recovered – and even some programs that purport to wipe your hard drive are fallible. Opt for Blancco’s Data Cleaner+ package (£16.95 from tinyurl.com/e65oo ), which will do the job better than any other package on the market.

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