Last month, Newcastle City Council and Newcastle United took part in Recycle Your Electricals’ ‘The Great Cable Challenge’. A huge thank you goes out to all our residents and schools who have together helped to collect 2,705 cables, totalling nearly 5 kilometres in length - enough to wrap around the pitch at St. James' Park an incredible 14.5 times.
The challenge, part of a nationwide effort launched on International E-Waste Day (14 Oct), aims to reduce the millions of unused cables piling up in households across the UK and recycle the precious materials – including copper – found in cables. The 2,705 cables collected in Newcastle hold upwards of 16.46kg of copper that can be recycled and reused – the equivalent mass of 160 Greggs Sausage Rolls!
The initiative encouraged fans attending Newcastle United’s Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion, as well as residents travelling into the city on Saturday, October 19th, to bring their old cables for recycling at a collection point on Strawberry Place - located across from the club’s new flagship retail store at St. James' Park.
Throughout Recycling Week, residents visited a series of pop-up recycling events across Newcastle, where they had the opportunity to recycle small electrical items. Local schools also enthusiastically joined the challenge, collectively contributing over 2,700 cables to the initiative.
Cllr Alex Hay, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, Newcastle City Council said: “It’s fantastic to see the incredible support our partners and the local community have shown for the Great Cable Challenge. We extend our thanks to Newcastle United for their invaluable contribution in helping us gather such an impressive number of cables. This initiative highlights the power of collaboration in driving meaningful environmental change, and we’re excited to continue building on this momentum to create a lasting positive impact.”
Helen Hughes, Sustainability Manager at Newcastle United, added: “The strength of support from Newcastle United fans once again exceeded all expectations and we would like to thank everyone that contributed to surpassing our goal for The Great Cable Challenge.
“We’ve not only played our part in recycling valuable materials and reducing waste, but demonstrated how small measures can create a big impact when it comes to adopting sustainable actions.”
Scott Butler, Executive Director of Recycle Your Electricals, added: ‘I’m inspired by the collective efforts of the Newcastle United fans and Newcastle residents and their contributions to The Great Cable Challenge – Football and recycling, two of my favourite things! This campaign is the latest in a longstanding partnership with Newcastle City Council following the launch of their household small electrical recycling project earlier this year.’
Recycling electrical items has never been easier, with more than 26,000 recycling points available across the UK. Residents are encouraged to continue recycling by finding their nearest recycling centre using Recycle Your Electricals’ [**Recycling Locator**](https://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/electrical-recycling-near-me/) or participating in upcoming recycling events.
For more information on where to recycle your electricals, visit the '[Recycle your electricals' website](https://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/)