UK Households Hoard 880 Million Unused Tech Items

Currys’ recent survey of 2,000 people highlights a sharp disconnect between environmental knowledge and household habits. Four in five respondents still keep defunct mobile phones, including a significant portion holding onto their very first device—often vintage Nokias. Security concerns regarding personal data and a lack of clear recycling pathways remain major friction points, with 23% of participants citing uncertainty about how to dispose of items correctly.

Despite 81% of respondents acknowledging that improper battery disposal poses fire risks and 77% understanding that recycling reduces raw material mining, only one-third of those surveyed managed to recycle any technology in the past year. To bridge this gap, the retailer is utilizing its Newark, Nottinghamshire, facility to process items at scale, having collected 5.5 million pieces of e-waste last year. Paula Coughlan, Chief People, Communications and Sustainability Officer at Currys, noted that the company’s new video campaign aims to demystify the process, demonstrating that data security and device reuse are prioritized once items leave the consumer's hands.