How to recycle your old electricals and declutter your home

Over half a billion small, cheap electricals were bought in the last 12 months and then binned (that's 16 items every second!). These items—from electric toothbrushes to cables and earphones—contain valuable materials and they can and should be recycled so that they can have a second life as children's play equipment, defibrillators or wind turbines. 

FastTech is now rivalling Fast Fashion when it comes to things ending up in landfill and all this wasted tech represents the UK’s fastest growing electrical waste stream.

To have a big clearout, get your rubbish bag, recycling bag, box for charity and box for any electrical recycling at the ready. You need somewhere to put things so you’re not tempted to just shove them back in the cupboard.

If you are selling items on, be realistic as to how much time you have to get this done. You don’t want to end up storing bags and bags of resale belongings which you simply don’t have the time to sort, list and post.

It doesn’t matter how much you get through, as long as you follow a simple rule—only start an area you can complete. Work on it, complete it and then stop.

If you leave an area unfinished at the end of the day, it can leave that defeated feeling and you may not want to begin again. The aim is to finish on a high—even tackling small areas can give you the biggest buzz.

Technology often makes people stop in their tracks when they’re having a clear out. Why don’t we want to get rid of it? Perhaps because it could still be useful or it cost a lot? See the potential if your old technology was donated or recycled.

The alternative? It will sit in a box for the next ten years when it could be having a second life. Don’t forget to remove batteries from old electricals! These can be recycled separately.

You may be surprised that the majority of things you clear out can be reused or recycled. Do some research and check out Recycle Your Electricals website—did you know that even your old plugs and wires can be recycled?

Clothes, shoes, books, wood, toys, ornaments, batteries, other small electricals—there is somewhere for all of it to go and you’re likely to have a drop off point near you—just check out their Recycling Locator which has a whopping 16,000 places you can recycle your electricals.

Did you know a photograph of an object can spark the same memory as the actual object itself? This means you don’t always need to keep an item you are holding onto sentimentally! This is especially useful for bulky items you are only keeping because they have memories attached to them. Try taking a photograph and see how it makes you feel. It may help you let go and clear the space.

Vicky says: “A lot of people don’t know you can recycle electricals—anything with a plug, battery or cable, but it’s made so easy by using the Recycle Your Electricals Recycling Locator.

The key is to get started and stop seeing your home as one giant task that you have an urgency to complete. Chipping away at your home is a great way to declutter, so start with something small like a drawer or a shelf, nothing more.

People often get disheartened when they don’t initially get rid of as much as they’d have hoped to. Don’t worry if you feel like that. Letting things go can be a really emotional process. You can feel really attached to things sometimes, even if they’re just functional items with no sentimental attachment. Always revisit areas you have worked on days or weeks later and you’ll probably find you pick out additional items to go.”

Joanne Batty, a self-proclaimed technology lover and mother of two from Leeds, loves buying the newest releases. She had around 40 older items at home cluttering up cupboards that she didn’t realise could be recycled. 

Joanne said: “I’ve always loved collecting the newest version of things but I didn’t realise how much space all my old tech was taking up—there’s no need for me to hang onto my boxes of unused computers and endless amounts of cables. I have so many chargers that are for items I also no longer have—why have I kept them?

"My children have multiples of so many FastTech items too, like fairy lights. To know that the unloved items can have renewed purpose and become valuable items for a second life is so rewarding. When it’s as easy as popping to a Recycling Centre round the corner, there’s no excuse for me to not make the effort and clear out my tech—my cupboards will be grateful for the clear out too.”