Experts will be on hand to repair residents' broken household appliances at an event aimed at reducing unnecessary waste.

Brentwood Borough Council has teamed up with Recycle Essex to hold a special Restart Party where they will do their best to mend electronic and electric items.

If they cannot be fixed they should be taken to the Council's new recycle bank at its Warley depot, which has been set up especially for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, known as WEEE.

In the first six months of last year more than 20 tonnes of WEEE was collected within the borough and sent for recycling and this figure is likely to increase.

Brentwood Borough Council's Chair of Environment and Housing, Councillor Chris Hossack said: "Today families have no end of household and personal items with plugs, and the tendency is often to throw these away once they are no longer wanted, broken or simply replaced by newer models.

"There are very strict legal requirements in place for the disposal of such items and the Council is proud of its record on meeting these. That's why we took the decision to install a new and specific WEEE recycle bank. Residents can drop off their items here and know they will be properly recycled effectively and efficiently."

However, many WEEE items can be fixed if broken, but that incurs expense which many people are not prepared to pay, preferring to simply buy a new model rather than renovate the old one.

This is about to change with the launch of the first free Restart Party in the borough from noon to 3pm on Saturday, January 28 at St George's Church Hall, in Ongar Road, Brentwood.

More details on recycling electrical items can be found at recycleforessex.com, Facebook: recycleforessex Twitter @ recycleforessex and @restartproject.

To register an interest in attending the event on the day go to Facebook: Brentwood Borough Council.