People in London are the biggest tech hoarders with an average of over four unused devices in their homes, compared to the UK average of three. According to new research from online electricals retailer AO, one in four Londoners (25%) have between six and ten electricals gathering dust.
According to the survey of 2,000 Brits, almost four in ten (39%) people have three or more electricals that they no longer use, indicating that we all feel an attachment to our tech and have at least a few cracked iPhones or vintage consoles lying around. Mobile phones are the most likely to be discarded in a drawer, closely followed by laptops, headphones and DIY tools.
When it comes to larger appliances, a third (31%) have at least one fridge somewhere in their home that they no longer use. A third (30%) also admit to having at least one washing machine they no longer use, with a huge 9% revealing they have three still in their home – which shows uncertainty about how to dispose of large appliances.
On average, Londoners believed their old items were worth a huge £443, compared to the national average of £228. 6% of people in the area also believed their old items were valued between £1,000 and £2,000. One in four (24%) Londoners always buy the latest model, and another one in four (26%) like to upgrade their devices after only a year of use.
When asked why they are so reluctant to part with their gadgets, a third (33%) said they like to keep the electricals as a back-up. A third (32%) keep their old electricals because they’d like to recycle them but are unsure how. Interestingly, the research reveals that eight out of ten (79%) Brits agree that if there was an easy way to recycle their old electricals and appliances, they would like to do this instead of keeping them.
Robert Sant, MD of AO Recycling, said: “The new research shows that people clearly want to recycle their old electricals and appliances. They often end up collecting dust or fly tipped on the street when we could help to reduce our impact on the environment by just recycling them.”
“Over the past year, we’ve seen an increase in people taking advantage of our recycling service, with AO Recycling received 68% more unwanted fridges compared to the previous year. We believe it is the responsibility of retailers and manufacturers to make it as easy and hassle-free as possible for people to safety recycle these items.”
AO.com currently offers a Collect & Recycle service, where both customers and the public can book to have their appliances taken away to be responsibly recycled at AO’s unique fridge recycling plant in Telford.
