consumer electronics

Defra – The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs recently announced that from 2026, it will be easier for UK consumers to recycle their unused electronics through improved recycling routes - unwanted electronics will be collected from people's homes or can be dropped off in supermarkets.  

You will be pleased to know that the bill for these improvements will be fronted by retailers and manufacturers, refreshingly not the UK taxpayer. 

While this announcement is, of course, a step in the right direction, there are some areas that need to be clarified before circular economy advocates can begin celebrating.  

Why is This an Important Issue?

We talk about e-waste a lot here at Techbuyer. Over 57 million tonnes of potentially toxic electronics end up as waste every year across the globe, and over 70% of all toxic waste comes from electronics. This waste is often shipped off to developing nations and is either buried as landfill or sent to unregulated ‘recycling’ plants (sometimes referred to as digital dumpsites). This has devastating effects on ecosystems and communities - toxic by-products have been proven to seep into soil and groundwater causing major health issues for nearby residents and wildlife.  

What’s more, it’s not just the environment and local communities that suffer, it’s also our global supply chains. It is understood that up to 69 elements from the periodic table can be found in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and 23 out of 34 Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) are contained in IT equipment. Despite this, only around 17% of e-waste is believed to be properly recycled, meaning that we are currently wasting large quantities of essential resources.  

CRMs are vital to the functioning and growth of the global economy – they are used in most major sectors including; environmental technologies, consumer electronics, health, steel making, defence, space exploration and aviation. Conserving and recovering CRMs is essential to the future of our planet as we know it. 

As the UK is the second highest producer of e-waste per capita in the world, it is vital that our legislation supports repair & reuse and helps to establish a circular economy.

However, since Brexit, the UK has fallen behind European countries in terms of bringing in legislation to promote electronics recycling & repair to tackle the e-waste crisis.  

According to an OECD analysis of British data, the United Kingdom did not achieve its household e-waste recycling goals between 2017 and 2020. The assessment conducted by the economic think tank suggests that additional measures are necessary for the UK to address issues such as illegal dumping and the export of electronic waste. 

Whilst it's great to see e-waste and IT recycling being discussed and action being taken, as with all things, proper execution is vital. This news is still very fresh, and we are sure that these plans will develop, but for now, here are some of our key concerns... 

The Real Cost to the Consumer 

Perhaps the most obvious issue with this proposal is that despite the best intentions of not making taxpayers foot the bill for this, there is seemingly nothing stopping manufacturers/retailers from hiking up their prices to balance out additional costs.  

While more expensive electronics could help to combat our throwaway culture (people are less likely to discard things they have paid more for), there are better ways to make products last longer without stinging the consumer. In addition, in an increasingly digital world, we should be doing everything we can to avoid digital exclusion – we should make access to technology universal. Raising technology prices seems counterintuitive.  

Data Security  

While this change in legislation seems to be well suited to non-data-bearing electronics e.g. cables and kitchen appliances, questions remain about how effective these changes will be for equipment such as phones, tablets and laptops. We know very little about how data security risks will be managed with these new plans.  

Personal mobile devices hold large amounts of potentially sensitive information and data - It is estimated that the average personal mobile device contains roughly $14,000 worth of data. Even with factory resets, data can still be recovered by a motivated hacker.  

It’s estimated that 30% of mobile phones in Europe are no longer used and, in the UK, half of Brits have bags full of used electronic devices stored away. To get these devices (and their valuable composition) out of kitchen cupboards and into the hands of recyclers, to be properly treated, consumers need full peace of mind that their data will be securely handled and kept safe. 

With approximately 1.3 billion smartphones sold in 2023, accessible and secure recycling routes for mobile phones is a key piece of the puzzle for solving the e-waste crisis.  

Lack of Repair & Reuse Legislation  

This legislation appears to solely focus on encouraging recycling without a mention of repair or reuse. As we discussed in our article, “Can We Do Better Than IT Recycling?” recycling alone is not enough to tackle the full scale of the e-waste crisis.  

We would like to see additional repair legislation in conjunction with this to create a more comprehensive solution equipped to deliver the best possible outcome – Technology kept in use for longer and only recycled at the end of its useful life.

France for example, recently brought in new laws banning the destruction of unsold goods, instead ensuring proper recycling or reuse. They have also brought in laws promoting repair: the French Government subsidise the repair of household electronics to encourage people to keep their old devices for longer. They also created the repairability index, encouraging repair amongst consumers and prompting manufacturers to consider repairability in the design stage. We would like the UK Government to take a leaf out of our French cousin’s book!  

In summary, we are delighted to see the development of legislation to combat e-waste and promote e-recycling. We are excited to see how this proposal develops over time and we hope to see our concerns addressed.  

IT Recycling Solutions from Techbuyer  

Techbuyer provides sustainability-focused e-recycling services alongside our refurbishment process to reduce the impact of e-waste on our global environment and we offer competitive pricing for your used technology. 

With a zero-to-landfill guarantee on all devices and components we receive and an R2v3 certification for responsible recycling, Techbuyer ensures that your IT hardware is handled as sustainably as possible at end-of-life.

Receive a free quote for your electronic devices by contacting our team.