Discarded electricals are one of the fastest growing sources of waste – and a big threat to the environment and human health. Recycling old electronics is better for the planet and your pocket, putting valuable resources back into the economy.
Recycling old unwanted electricals uses less energy and creates less waste than making new products.
Precious materials in old electrical items can be recycled into life-saving equipment, bicycles – and even new electricals.
We’re hoarding billions of pounds worth of electricals that we could be reselling or passing on – imagine the extra cash and shelf space.
Recycling all our old unwanted electricals would create hundreds of new jobs in electrical reuse and recycling.
Find out how singer Nicola Roberts came to wear a dress made from 315 metres of household wires.
How Megan took the hassle out of recycling old gadgets
‘My old games console stopped working – so did the hair dryer. I didn’t want to throw them away, but recycling seemed such a pain. Then a friend said why not collect them all up in a bag? Now we just put old electricals in a separate carrier bag until it’s full enough (for my dad) to take to the recycling centre. Simple as that.’
We could save a whopping 2.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions if we recycled all our small unwanted electricals instead of binning or holding on to them. That’s like taking more than a million cars off the road.
