City of York Council is reminding York residents that it is now easier to recycle electronic equipment, thanks to a new national initiative called the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive.

The directive places responsibility on retailers of all electronic equipment to recycle or reuse the items that they have produced or sold once they are no longer needed. Some retailers now offer a like for like 'take-back' service, and members of the public should ask about this when buying new goods.

It has also made it possible for the council to be able to offer collection points at its three Household Waste Recycling Centres - at Hazel Court, Towthorpe and Beckfield Lane. These are for all kinds of electronic equipment, from TVs to hairdryers.  The equipment is separated into items that can be reused and items that need to be recycled before being collected from the sites.

For help in finding the collection points at the centres, please ask one of the site operatives who are always more than happy to help.

The items that you can take there include TVs, computers, PC monitors, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, tumble dryers, refrigerators, freezers, radios, hi-fis, mobile phones, hairdryers, fluorescent tubes, household batteries and any other electrical equipment.

Rachel Buxton of the council's waste strategy team said: "Clearly the WEE Directive will make it easier for people to recycle electronic goods and that is great news. We would encourage residents to think about repairing or upgrading equipment wherever possible, rather than just throwing it away and buying a new one."