When you’re ready to upgrade to a new laptop, what do you do with your old one? You might be tempted to hang on to it “just in case”, or to sell it online. But the easiest option is often a straightforward trade-in – it’s simple, speedy and sustainable.
On the personal front, when you trade in with a reputable retailer such as Currys, you’ll get a gift card that you can put towards your next laptop without the hassle of creating a listing or haggling over a price with a buyer. And you don’t even have to worry about someone getting their hands on your data as everything will be thoroughly wiped.
Next, the planet. Responsible retailers are increasingly looking to recycle goods, and the environmental importance of this cannot be overstated. Each year more than 50m tonnes of e-waste – everything from laptops and TVs to fridges – is produced globally, but at present only 20% is recycled. In the UK, about 155,000 tonnes of e-waste are thrown into household bins annually and either incinerated or sent to landfill. In fact, the UK is the second-largest generator in the world of e-waste per person.
Companies are more alert than ever to the issue and keen to show what action they are taking. Currys believes it is the UK’s largest retail recycler of tech, handling more than 60,000 tonnes of waste electronics each year.
Alongside its recycling operation, it runs a trade-in scheme for items that still have life in them. Laptops are a particularly busy part of this scheme, with 26,000 being traded in during 2021. Customers get an instant valuation for their old device online or in-store, then either post it or hand it in at a store, receiving in return a gift card. If a laptop is faulty or damaged to the extent that Currys cannot offer a value, customers can still use the company’s free recycling service.
“MacBook notebooks in particular have high residual values,” says Dean Kramer, director of services at Currys. In the last full financial year, MacBook notebooks made up 19% of all laptops traded in at the retailer with owners receiving an average of £225.
Once a laptop is handed over – whether traded in or passed on for recycling – Currys wipes the device using the standards the UK government applies to data destruction, so that’s a weight off many people’s minds.
What happens to a laptop next depends on its condition. Those that are in working order or can be repaired are given a new lease of life, and can go on to a new owner.
Even if your old tech is beyond rescue, it can still do its bit for the environment because it will be taken apart for spares or recycled into something new. Precious metals can be recovered from old laptops – materials that can be reused in place of newly mined products, which are associated with causing so much environmental damage.
“Trading in is good for the planet, and the pocket, and makes upgrading cheaper,” says Kramer. “Customers can be confident in the knowledge that we’ll do the right thing with the laptop, and rather than it contributing to an already huge e-waste problem in the UK, we’ll refurbish it or recycle it safely and responsibly.”
Whatever you need from your laptop, Currys has the tech expertise and range, as well as payment/finance options, in every single store. To find a laptop that works for your needs, visit currys.co.uk
