· Brits to spend millions on electrical items this Christmas
· Household waste volumes reported to increase by 25% in December
· E-waste now the world’s fastest-growing waste stream
· 1.4 million tonnes of e-waste either landfilled or shipped outside the EU every year
With Brits set to spend millions of pounds on new electrical items and appliances over the festive period, one environmentally conscious company is calling for consumers to consider the devastating impact of their seasonal spending.
Almost 1.4 million tonnes of e-waste is landfilled in the UK every year – a weight 100 times heavier than the Eiffel Tower. December is said to be one of the worst months for waste, with kerbside collection volumes increasing by c.25%.
Unfortunately, without decisive action, eSpares’ believe e-waste rates will continue to escalate. Head of brand, Ad Casey commented:
“According to our latest research, 75% of Brits don’t attempt to fix appliances when they break down, while 10% prefer to throw away appliances when they became dated and unfashionable. Entirely damning stats when you consider that 70% of all e-waste is classified as ‘unaccounted for’.
“While splashing out at Christmas is somewhat of a British tradition, we can’t overlook the implications of our wasteful behaviour. In fact, the latest stats suggest that every UK resident creates more than 15kg of e-waste per annum.”
The message from eSpares is clear. Think twice this Christmas about whether or not you need to buy new – it’s almost always easier and cheaper to repair rather than replace.
To inspire a national movement when it comes to fixing broken appliances, eSpares has launched #FixFirst – an initiative that provides householders with FREE comprehensive information on how to fix appliances and help protect the environment. The company’s Advice Centre features more than 500 ‘how to’ videos, 700 fault fix articles and 9,000 appliance manuals, all of which help consumers to fix – not throw away.
For more information about the #FixFirst campaign, visit https://espares.co.uk/fixfirst.
