Why are electricals important?
Why should we be recycling our broken and unused electricals?
Fastest growing waste stream
Wasted electrical items are the largest growing waste stream in the world with us currently throwing away around 50 million tonnes of e-waste. This number is currently set to double to more than 110 million tonnes by 2050!
Carbon impact
Producing and manufacturing new electrical items generates a lot of carbon. If we recycled our old electricals it would cut as much carbon as taking 1.3 million cars off the road!
Battery fires
Batteries (or electricals containing hidden batteries) thrown in household rubbish bins cause around 700 fires every year in waste collection vehicles and waste-processing sites. Many electricals contain batteries hidden within them - such as electric toothbrushes, vapes and anything rechargeable.
How are battery fires caused?
1. If binned, the battery or electrical is unloaded into the lorry with the other rubbish
2. The lorry’s ‘compacting blade’ compresses the rubbish together in the back of the vehicle so that it can fit more in
3. The battery gets crushed or damaged in this process, air and water can react together with the chemicals and batteries begin to spark which can start a fire
How are battery fires caused?
1. If binned, the battery or electrical is unloaded into the lorry with the other rubbish
2. The lorry’s ‘compacting blade’ compresses the rubbish together in the back of the vehicle so that it can fit more in
3. The battery gets crushed or damaged in this process, air and water can react together with the chemicals and batteries begin to spark which can start a fire
Precious recourses
Electrical waste, (like those old mobile phones we’re all holding onto) contain small amounts of valuable materials such as gold, silver, aluminum and copper along with a wide range of valuable rare earth elements.
Discarded or hoarded household electricals cost the UK economy £370 million per year of lost valuable raw materials such as gold, copper, aluminium and steel!
If we hold onto our unused items or get rid of them without recycling, we are losing all of these precious materials. This means we will need to continue to mine for virgin materials which we only have a finite amount of.