UK consumers have become increasingly concerned with sustainability issues in recent years. Almost two thirds (65%) now think about the environmental impact of an item when purchasing, with 32% saying they’d spend more on an item that had better environmental credentials.[1] However, the UK is behind other nations in some aspects of the effort to become more sustainable.
Per person, the UK produces the second highest amount of electronic waste (e-waste) in the world and if current trends continue, we will be responsible for just under 55,000 tonnes a year by 2030.[2] E-waste has become such an important topic, not just in the UK but globally, that in 2018 the WEEE Forum created International E-Waste Day to raise awareness of the issue; this event now takes place annually on the 14th of October.[3]
Part of the problem lies in our insistence on acquiring the newest tech. Revenue in the UK consumer electronics market grew from £23.28 billion in 2018 to over £25 billion in 2022, and is expected to maintain similar levels in the next five years.[4] For comparison, revenue of the Italian consumer electronics market was valued at €16.06 billion euros in 2022 – a significantly lower figure.[5]
A further issue is that consumers are not selling or recycling old products but hoarding them – the average UK household contains as many as 20 unused electronic items.[6] Reducing our level of e-waste therefore relies on using our devices for longer and disposing of unused electronics properly.
Extending tech lifetime
According to a YouGov survey, 48% of tablet, 45% of smartphone and 31% of laptop owners would buy a new device if the old one stopped working rather than attempt to get it fixed.[7] When questioned about the reasons for this, over half of consumers (53%) believed repair would be too costly and the same amount wouldn’t repair a device that they already perceive as old.
There are misconceptions about how long consumer devices can last. For example, a study of Western European customers found the average customer expected smartphones would last just 3.7 years before a replacement was needed.[8] In Britain, a separate survey found that 70% of phone owners were replacing devices within four years and 28% every couple of years[9]. Yet, if consumers take proper care of devices – for instance, by protecting screens and keeping an eye on storage and battery life – devices should be able to last for up to five years or more.[10]
Tech protection plans can help consumers extend the lifetime of devices including smartphones, laptops and tablets, since they often include maintenance, installation, optimisation, repair and trade-in options. Asurion’s study found that investing in support cover for smartphones, tablets and laptops and then trading in a device at the end of year could save customers over £400 and see a reduction in the nation’s carbon footprint by 4.5 million tonnes of CO2e. This is equivalent to 0.9% of the country’s entire greenhouse gas emissions.[11]
Recycling our e-waste
Even if they would like to do the responsible thing, a fifth (21%) of UK consumers are unaware of how to dispose of e-waste properly.[12] Almost a quarter (23%) find recycling their electronics confusing or inconvenient.[13] The e-waste recycling infrastructure in the UK is certainly partially responsible for these issues. Most e-waste is collected at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs), but the UK has the least per person of any European nation and one of the fewest per 1000km2.[14] Additionally, while there is at least one HWRC in most big towns and cities, they are often on the edge of these urban areas and best accessed by car, further contributing to carbon emissions even as people are trying to recycle.[15]
One alternative to HWRCs which is growing in popularity is device trade-in services. In August 2022, one mobile network provider saw a 26% increase in people trading in items over the previous six months and a 72% increase since the previous year.[16] Consumers can quickly and easily recycle old devices, with trade-in services often supplying envelopes and mailing labels to streamline the process. Furthermore, there is often a significant financial incentive to trading in devices. For instance, a previous iteration of the iPhone, the iPhone 11, could net customers up to £268 with some retailers if in working condition and up to £186 if broken.[17] Old devices can then be sold on or have their valuable materials – such as silver, platinum, palladium and gold – retrieved after responsible dismantling.
Delivering the change
Of course, the drive to reduce our e-waste must be fuelled by consumers making more responsible choices, seeking to repair tech where possible rather than replacing it whenever there is a problem. However, this shift in consumer behaviour must be supported by the range of industry and government stakeholders involved in producing and disposing of electronics. Chris Williams, CEO of the waste management and recycling software business ISB Global, sums it up well: “What’s needed are clear, easy-to-use schemes for people to send their devices for reuse or recycling once they are finished with them.”
[1] Charged. (2022). Sustainability still top priority for UK consumers despite cost-of-living crisis. https://www.chargedretail.co.uk/2022/11/11/sustainability-still-top-priority-for-uk-consumers-despite-cost-of-living-crisis/
[2] Circular. (2023). UK generated 2nd largest amount of e-waste as a country in
[3] WEEE Forum. International E-Waste Day. https://weee-forum.org/iewd-about/
[4] Statista. (2023). Consumer electronics in the UK – statistics & facts. https://www.statista.com/topics/10712/consumer-electronics-in-the-united-kingdom/#topicOverview
[5] Statista. (2023). Revenue of the consumer electronics market in Italy from 2019 to 2028 (in billion euros) https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1282009/italy-revenue-consumer-electronics-market
[6] House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee. (2020). Electronic waste and the Circular Economy. https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/3675/documents/35777/default/
[7] Nolsoe, E. YouGov. (2020). 45% of smartphone owners would rather upgrade than repair. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/technology/articles-reports/2020/05/07/45-smartphone-owners-would-rather-upgrade-repair
[8] Magnier, L. and Mugge. Delft University of Technology. (2022). Replaced too soon? An exploration of Western European consumers’ replacement of electronic products. https://pure.tudelft.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/125928925/1_s2.0_S0921344922002919_main.pdf
[9] [9] Nolsoe, E. YouGov. (2020). 45% of smartphone owners would rather upgrade than repair. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/technology/articles-reports/2020/05/07/45-smartphone-owners-would-rather-upgrade-repair
[10] Everphone. What is the average smartphone lifespan? https://everphone.com/en/blog/smartphone-lifespan/
[11] Office for National Statistics. (2022). Greenhouse gas emissions, UK: provisional estimates: 2021. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/bulletins/greenhousegasintensityprovisionalestimatesuk/2021
[12] Currys. (2022). Currys launches new ‘Long Live Your Tech’ customer commitment as UK faces growing e-waste problem. https://www.currysplc.com/news-media/press-releases/2022/currys-launches-new-long-live-your-tech-customer-commitment-as-uk-faces-growing-e-waste-problem/
[13] Currys. (2022). Currys launches new ‘Long Live Your Tech’ customer commitment as UK faces growing e-waste problem. https://www.currysplc.com/news-media/press-releases/2022/currys-launches-new-long-live-your-tech-customer-commitment-as-uk-faces-growing-e-waste-problem/
[14] House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee. (2020). Electronic waste and the Circular Economy. https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/3675/documents/35777/default/
[15] House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee. (2020). Electronic waste and the Circular Economy. https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/3675/documents/35777/default/
[16] Vodaphone (2022). More Brits than ever trading in as a way to make money go
further during cost-of-living crisis. https://www.vodafone.co.uk/newscentre/press-release/more-brits-than-evertrading-in-as-a-way-to-make-money-go-further-during-cost-of-living-crisis/
[17] https://www.comparemymobile.com/sell/phones/apple/iphone-11/?capacity=256#
