- British households are hoarding 880 million unused devices, according to researchers
- The materials contained in these devices are worth £927m.
Visit any home across the UK and you’re likely to discover a ‘Drawer of Destiny’ filled with old equipment, mysterious keys and random screws.
Most of us don’t give much thought to what’s lurking inside, but a new report has revealed that we may be sitting on a treasure trove of ‘technological treasures’.
British households stock up on 880 million unused appliances and throw away 103,000 tonnes of electrical goods, according to researchers at Material Focus.
Experts say the materials contained in these devices are worth a whopping £927 million.
“With the value of materials in electronic products increasing by up to 180% over the past four years, it is more important than ever to preserve their value,” said Scott Butler, Executive Director of Material Focus. states.
In a study, Materials Focus used publicly available waste data to estimate the amount of electrical equipment being hoarded and discarded in the UK.
Researchers say British households stock up on a total of 880 million items, equating to 30 items per household.
Meanwhile, in 2023, 498,000 tonnes of electrical equipment was sent to licensed electrical recyclers and 103,000 tonnes were disposed of.
“We seem to be entering an era of hyper-technology purchasing,” Butler said.
“The amount of appliances we buy and use has surged by more than a third since 2019 in recent years, from fad-tech to modern kitchen fad-tech like airfryer to fitness tech to fast-tech. .”
“FastTech” includes inexpensive small electrical products such as mini fans, charging cables, electronic cigarettes, earphones, and earphones.
“When electronics break down or are no longer needed, many end up being thrown away or stored unused,” Butler continued.
“This is a significant missed opportunity.”
Our everyday items may seem basic, but they contain some valuable materials, many of which are worth a lot of money.
Circuit boards alone contain gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, nickel, tantalum, aluminum, tin, and zinc.
Hard drives, on the other hand, contain valuable cobalt and neodymium.
According to Material Focus, the value of some of these materials has increased in recent years.
Since 2019, glass prices have increased by 151%, iron prices by 181%, tin by 33%, and copper by 24%.
Based on the findings, Material Focus is urging Britons to look into their ‘drawers of destiny’ and recycle unused equipment.
Butler concluded: “Together we can make big positive changes through small individual actions.”
“By making collections larger and more easily accessible in homes and retail stores, we are making it easier for more people to reuse and recycle their old and unwanted electronics. Masu.”
To find your nearest recycling point, go to Electronics Recycling and enter your postcode.