Brits are being urged to check their homes for old electricals that can be recycled, following research revealing there are a staggering 823 million unused or broken items stashed in “drawers of doom”.
Items including old phones and broken cables could be the key to providing the UK with enough copper to overcome the fast-approaching gap in supply and demand, Recycle Your Electricals has found.
Their study has revealed that UK households contain 38,449 tonnes of copper hidden inside unwanted and unused electricals – which is the equivalent of 1,240 copper Statues of Liberty.
Recycle Your Electricals’ executive director, Scott Butler, said: “We all have our own stashes of unused or broken electricals. But it’s time that we realised the value and power of the silent majority; the hidden treasures inside our homes.
“People may not realise that cables and electricals contain valuable materials, not just copper, and that if binned or stashed, we lose everything inside of them when we don’t recycle them into something new.”
The campaign is urging Brits to go “urban mining” through “drawers of doom”, garages and storage cupboards for goods containing copper that can be recycled.
What items should you be on the hunt for? And how can you recycle them? Here’s our guide.
What is urban mining?
Urban mining is an eye-catching phrase for a pretty straightforward action. It just means finding unused items in homes and workplaces that can be recycled instead of thrown away, so that they won’t end up as landfill or incinerated.
Which electrical items can be recycled?
As Butler explained: “Anything with a plug, battery or cable can be reused and recycled.” This includes – but is not limited to – old kitchen appliances, computers, gaming consoles, mobile phones and cables.
Cables are especially important as it has been estimated the UK has 627 million of them that have either been binned or are unused. That’s enough to stretch to the moon and back – and they could contain a whooping 3,252 tonnes of copper, Recycle Your Electricals said.
How to find your nearest recycling facility
There are more than 26,000 recycling points in the UK and it’s incredibly easy to find one near you.
Simply enter your postcode into the online Recycling Locator for a list of those close to your home. The locator will tell you which types of items are accepted and it’ll also flag if your local council offers a collection service.
A number of the points are located in stores – including Currys and B&Q – where you can also take items to be repaired.
