Time to handover those unwanted appliances

The Monaco City Council is continuing efforts to minimise waste in the Principality, this time organising the collection of electrical items that no longer work or that people have no use for.

The Monaco City Council, under the leadership of Marjorie Crovetto Harroch, Second Deputy Mayor in charge of the Living, Environment and Sustainable Development Framework, and the Monaco Sustainable Development Association (MC2D), are already working together to reduce food waste in Monaco. They have since gone further, creating MEGs – an acronym for ‘Monaco Engages Against Waste’.

In early December 2018, toys were collected under the MEG initiative and were donated to two Monegasque associations, Mission Enfance and the Monegasque Red Cross. On 6th and 7th March 2019, ‘MEG Books’ allowed for the collection of more than 4,000 books which were resold on Internet by the RecycLivre association.

Now, it is the ‘MEG electrical and electronic appliances’ drive, in partnership with the Monegasque Society for Sanitation (SMA). Like the previous two, this collection is organised over two afternoons: Wednesday 15th May and Thursday 16th May from 1pm to 6pm at Espace Léo Ferré.

The public is invited to drop off devices that are in good condition, but also those that are no longer working. Everything will be accepted, from small household appliances (toaster, coffee maker, vacuum cleaner, hair dryer), to power tools, printers, computers, mobile phones, game consoles, and even electronic cigarettes. They will also take cables and remotes that accumulate uselessly around the home.

In addition, the SMA will provide a bin for light bulbs and neon lights, and another for used batteries.

Electrical devices that are still in working order will have a second life with affiliates of the association Fight Aids Monaco or a donor in contact with the SMA. Out-of-service appliances will be recycled using an appropriate circuit to recover reusable raw materials and to protect the environment from possible polluting substances contained in the equipment.

The next initiatives are ‘MEG textbooks’ on 3rd and 4th July, ‘MEG warm clothes’ in October, and ‘MEG toys’ in November and December 2019.