Supermarket chain Sainsburys has introduced yet another eco-friendly initiative, this time offering customers the chance to recycle their old or unused mobile phone chargers .
Throughout August, shoppers will be able to drop their phone charges in temporary recycling banks located at the entrances of all Sainsbury’s stores.
It’s estimated there are around 20 million unused mobile chargers lying around in homes across the UK, which is equal to around 5,000 tonnes of waste that could be recycled and re-used.
Sainsbury’s is hoping to collect at least 150,000 charging devices for recycling from both customers and employees between now and 28 August 2010.
“By running this campaign, we hope to raise awareness of charger recycling facilities, while at the same time preventing nearly 40 tonnes of waste from going to landfill,” said Neil Sachdev, the company’s property director.
“We’re really excited to see how much of a difference we can make. Only 280,000 chargers are currently recycled each year, so if we hit our target of 150,000, we could increase recycling rates by over 50 per cent.”
He added: “This initiative was originally suggested by Sainsbury’s colleagues, who are passionate about engaging customers and making it easier for them to lead more environmentally responsible lives.”
The mobile handset charger recycling drive is part of Sainsburys ‘Make the Difference Days’ program, which involves stores nationwide tackling specific environmental issues, and adds to the retailer’s current recycling scheme for mobile phones and sat nav devices.
