ASK
Does your old electrical contain batteries or bulbs? Remove these before recycling. Delete any personal data from smart devices, and take out memory and SIM cards.
Prepare electricals for recycling
You can recycle anything with a plug, battery or cable. Here’s how to prepare electricals.
As easy as ABC
Could your unwanted electricals be passed on, or fixed? If not, recycling your electricals is the best thing to do. Now preparing them is simple.
BAG IT
Find a bag that you can use to store all your old electricals until you can go to the recycling centre – or until collection day, if you have one.
CHECK
Check our easy recycling locator to find your local repair, reuse or recycling points.
Recycling locator
Back up your videos, photos, music and more
Anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled. That includes phones and laptops, as well as older entertainment devices such as VHS recorders, DVD/CD players and tape decks. But you might still have home movies, albums and mix tapes on older formats that you’ll want to access after you’ve recycled or donated your device. Check out our pages on backing up VHS, cassettes and DVD/CDs and backing up SD cards, mobile devices and computer files.
Watch This
Delete your data
Paul Lewis runs through a simple three-stage process for deleting data from your devices
Or you can download our guide to data deletion below. Remember it’s your responsibility to wipe data from your smart devices before passing them on or recycling them.
Prepare electricals for recycling
How to delete your data from your smart devices so you can part with them safely.
3 easy steps for peace of mind
Step 1
Start by backing up the data from your device and any memory cards. Usually this means saving your photos, contacts and so on to the cloud or to a personal computer.
Step 2
Next, wipe all personal data from your device, and reset to original settings. This is called a factory reset. The manufacturer’s website will tell you how to do this.
Step 3
Finally, remove any SIM and memory cards from the device. Now use our handy locator to find your nearest repair, reuse or recycling point.
Need more help on deleting data from smart devices?
Remember, it’s your responsibility to wipe data from your smart devices before passing them on or recycling them. Check out our FAQ on how to delete your data or hit the button below to download our handy guide.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to do before recycling my electricals?
Simple – delete any data, take out batteries, bulbs and memory cards – and pop the devices in a bag until you can go to your recycling centre. See our 3-step guide to preparing your items, above, before using our recycling locator to find your nearest recycling point.
How do I delete data from my devices?
Good question. It’s easier than you might think. See our 3-step guide to deleting your data, above. Or for more detailed guidance, see our article on deleting data safely from smart devices.
