United Kingdom

My district council has collected small electrical items for asong as I can remember. I was surprised to find out that not all councils do this.

As much as I think it's a good thing for councils to have control over their local budgets (so long as they're funded adequately...), I think it's a poor system to let councils take on individual recycling contracts. The buying power alone should make a unified contract more economical. It's mad that moving from one town to another can put you into a council that offers a poorer service, likely for a similar cost (if comparing neighbouring councils).

Link to the recycling policy for my district

Home collections would not require any extra bins, the government said, adding the cost of the pick-ups would be financed by the producers of electrical items and not fall on taxpayers.

you're going to see it in the final cost of the products though, which to be clear isn't a bad thing, but it's extremely disingenuous to act like there's no end cost to consumers when the companies are definitely going to pass that on. language like this tries to obscure that fact: it's actually true, but people take "the taxpayer" to mean "I won't pay more" but you certainly will.

I think this is a great idea and an important thing to do, but stop babying people about the costs: things cost money, and buying things that are difficult to dispose of has consequences that need to be dealt with, don't try to hide it.

my actual biggest wish, which I will never get because the administrative costs would be astronomical, is that the cost added to goods be directly tied to their recyclability (both in materials and labor) as it would incentivize building more easily recycled products by manufacturers to keep costs competitive.

Bristol Council have enough problems collecting actual plastic and cardboard recycling. This ain't happening, sadly. They can consult all they want but we'll still be let down.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Kerbside collections for small electrical goods such as toasters and hairdryers could be rolled out across the UK from 2026 under government proposals to boost recycling.

And shops and online sellers would be made to pick up unwanted or broken larger electrical items such as fridges when delivering replacements.

Home collections would not require any extra bins, the government said, adding the cost of the pick-ups would be financed by the producers of electrical items and not fall on taxpayers.

The government will also consult on ensuring vape suppliers fund collections of single-use products to avoid them ending up in landfill, although this will not necessarily see them entirely recycled.

The Environmental Services Association's executive director welcomed the plans, saying it could make it "simpler and more convenient" for households to recycle waste electrics at home.

Jacob Hayler added: "On behalf of those operating recycling centres and kerbside collection services, we welcome the opportunity to contribute through consultation and help create an effective system that delivers on its intended outcomes and works, not just for householders, but for obligated producers and retailers too."

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