Currys has launched the UK’s first ever recycling scheme offering monetary rewards for old tech, even if customers think their item is worthless because it is broken or damaged.
‘Cash for Trash’ is a month-long initiative from the UK’s largest omnichannel technology retailer which is on until April 15, 2022 and invites people across the country to bring in any old, broken, or unused electronics to their nearest Currys store in exchange for a voucher worth at least £5.
On top of that, tech like TVs and small domestic appliances can also be traded in for hundreds of pounds off new products.
Commenting on the new scheme, Lindsay Haselhurst, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Currys said: “We are already helping thousands of customers recycle unwanted tech every day. But Cash for Trash aims to take it to the next level.
“This trial is all about making recycling easy and rewarding. We’re urging the nation to look in drawers, under the sofa and up in the loft as these unused tech devices that have seen better days could be repaired, rehomed, or recycled into something new. We really are accepting any tech, bought from anywhere, even if it’s broken - it might look like trash, but it isn’t to us.”
The retailer collects on average 5,500 thousand tonnes of tech a month and is hoping to surpass that in the month of Cash for Trash and as part of its broader mission to help tech live longer by supporting UK shoppers with extending the life of their everyday devices and appliances.
The tech collected will then be screened and recycled or repaired and rehomed, saving old tech from going to landfill.
Currently in the UK, at least 155,000 tons of tech still ends up in landfill every year.
To support the launch of Cash for Trash, Currys commissioned YouGov to survey UK consumers to better understand what types of unused tech Brits are needlessly holding onto and why.
The survey found that people across the UK are hoarding:
- Mobile Phones - 67%
- Cameras - 55%
- Speakers and headphones - 50%
- Hairstyling products such as hairdryers or straighteners - 38%
- Old landline phones - 37%
- White Goods - 29%
In addition, the research found that nearly four in 10 people (38%) would more likely use a technology recycling scheme if there was monetary incentive or assurance that their personal data is being disposed of properly.
While just under a quarter of all Brits with unused tech (23%) find potential recycling schemes for their unused electronics confusing or inconvenient, 21 per cent of this group admit they don’t know how to dispose of e-waste responsibly.
Since 2007, Currys has been recycling technology and making it last longer by saving nearly 800,000 tonnes of tech from contributing to landfill.
In 2021, 40 per cent of all e-waste collected by UK retailers was collected by Currys.
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