WASTE OF A BANK HOLIDAY: Confused Brits adding to growing e-waste problem this bank holiday

As the August bank holiday approaches, Currys PC World, the UK’s largest technology recycler, is asking Brits to think before they bin, as the nation gets set for a bank holiday weekend clear out.

New research from the nation’s leading electricals retailer highlights the UK’s e-waste issue and growing customer confusion around what to do with old and broken tech items. It reveals that over half of Brits (54%) are considering a clear out this bank holiday, yet 68% don’t know what, where and how to recycle their tech items. Which could explain why the UK is one of the worst e-waste offenders in Europe.

Currently the UK has a yearly 1.45 million tonnes¹ e-waste problem, which is compounded by 4.2 million UK households unnecessarily dumping electrical items in their household bin, sending them to landfill rather than recycling, rehoming or repairing them.

A statistic that is only set to increase² as many households currently hoard tech items that they don’t know how to dispose of, with mobile phones and headphones being among the worst offenders.

Broken small tech items most likely to be lying around in UK homes

This bank holiday weekend Currys PC World is helping and encouraging Brits to join the repair, recycle and re-love revolution by ‘saving it, not slinging it’ and asking the nation to make use of the retailer’s 313 existing instore recycling collection points. Currys PC World offers convenient and easy ways to get your old tech removed or recycled, whether it’s by a Currys PC World colleague removing an old item in a home and replacing it with a new one or assisting customers instore with any small tech drop off for free, Currys PC World can help.

Many of these small tech items can be recycled at household waste recycling centres or through council curb side pickup, however Currys PC World will take back all of these small tech items and either repair, recycle or rehome every single one, even if they weren’t purchased from one of their stores.

Since 2007, Currys PC World has been recycling, repairing, and rehoming tech and goes above the minimum legislative requirement for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and is the only major retailer to offer a take-back service in stores, even if the customer hasn’t purchased from Currys PC World directly.

The company’s newly released research also has found that almost a third of Brits (32%) are slinging unwanted yet working small appliances in the bin, rather than recycling them, leaving many to go to waste. In 2020, 43% of all e-waste collected by UK retailers was collected by Currys PC World, and the retailer has recycled over 800,000 tonnes of tech since 2007.

Yet the nation isn’t doing this through lack of care, but a lack of knowledge. Almost a quarter (24%) of Brits keep unwanted and working small appliances/tech items because they don’t know where to dispose of them.

The city hoarding the most items due to a lack of awareness is London, as 32% of those in the capital struggle with where and how to get rid of their tech, with 313 Currys PC World stores around the country, and 33 in London, they offer a convenient and stress-free recycling option compared to some household waste recycling centres. The stores are open seven days a week, for longer hours, require no need to book and there is no limit on how many of visits.

Matt Manning, Group Carbon and Environment Manager said: “Our research shows that the nation is a little confused about how to recycle their unwanted tech. The UK being one of the top e-waste offenders in Europe and as the UK’s largest retail tech recycler, Currys PC World is on a mission to help the nation’s households do the right thing. Research has shown that there are 527 million hoarded items in homes across the UK, and with the bank holiday often being a time when the nation ‘sorts’ and ‘tidies’, we are keen to help people understand the best, and most sustainable ways to rid themselves of unwanted small tech items.

“We offer our customers a number of recycling options, from in-store drop offs, to home pick-ups when larger items are delivered. From toasters to TVs and everything in between, we facilitate the recycling of all tech and want to make it as easy as possible for customers to continue doing so.

“For us, it is also important that we repair, reuse and rehome as much of the unwanted tech as possible, saving items that could otherwise go to landfill or sit idly at the back of a drawer by giving them a better purpose.”