People could be missing out on an average of £638 by failing to recycle old electronic devices, according to new research from Virgin Media O2.
The findings, released ahead of Global Recycling Day on 18 March, estimage 92 million electronic devices— including smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and gaming consoles—have been thrown out wtih household waste over the past five years. This has cost the average UK household around £370 in lost resale value.
Despite 65 per cent of people acknowledging the environmental impact of improper disposal, nearly 79 per cent admit to throwing old electronics in the bin rather than recycling or reselling them.
Virgin Media O2, which operates the O2 Recycle programme, is urging people to recycle or donate their unwanted tech rather than letting it go to waste. The scheme, open to customers of any mobile network, accepts various devices, including smartphones, tablets, wearables, and gaming consoles.
The research also highlights a pattern of hoarding, with 74 per cent of respondents admitting they have kept unused tech for at least five years. However, 81 per cent said they would recycle their devices if they could earn money for them, and 72 per cent would consider donating them to those in need.
Campaigners are calling for greater awareness and action to prevent electronic waste from ending up in landfill, where it can have harmful environmental consequences.
The srvey was carried out by Strand Partners which conducted an online survey of 1,020 UK residents this month. Respondents were asked to report how many devices of each type they had disposed of in the past five years. The national average for each device type was calculated and then multiplied by the total number of UK households, using 2023 census estimates, to determine the total national disposal volume.
The average recycling value of each device type was determined using O2 Recycle data. These values were then applied to the estimated disposal volumes to calculate the total potential recycling value of discarded devices.
Household hoarding estimates were calculated in a similar way. Respondents provided estimates of the number of unused devices stored at home. These figures were used to determine the overall volume of stored devices, with financial values assigned based on O2 Recycle data to estimate their total potential worth.
