Is your next gadget about to end up adding to the mountains of ‘electronic waste’ we are all accumulating?
New research from WEEE Forum, has found that almost 90% of European consumers from 12 countries own at least one “fast tech” device and 78% bought one in the past year.
However 58% of buyers could recall one they had used for no more than six months, including 39% who recalled one they discarded unused, after a single use or within a month.
WEEE Forum published the research ahead of Black Friday to raise awareness of fast tech.
Separate research by Material Focus, also found that in the UK alone, more than half a billion small fast tech electrical items were purchased, roughly 16 items per second.
Pascal Leroy, Director General of the WEEE Forum (leader of International E-Waste day) said: “Fast tech is the blind spot of the e-waste world. Black Friday and Christmas will bring another enormous wave of earphones, electronic toys, mini gadgets, chargers and other inexpensive electronics into our homes.
“Their low price doesn’t mean they have no environmental cost. We need them to be collected and recycled when they’re no longer in use.”
While 46% expect fast tech to have a shorter lifespan than more expensive alternatives, only 21% consider it more environmentally harmful.
Fast-tech products contain plastics, metals and other materials that can potentially be recovered and returned to productive use. When they are thrown into general waste, those resources are lost.
A growing number also contain lithium-ion batteries (also used in electric cars and vapes), creating an additional hazard. When discarded with household waste, battery-powered devices can be crushed or punctured inside collection vehicles, sorting plants and waste-treatment facilities. This has previously led to fires that endanger workers, damage equipment and disrupt waste services.
The WEEE Forum is encouraging consumers to consider not only price when buying fast tech during Black Friday and the Christmas season but also whether they really need a new product, can they get it second hand instead, whether it can be repaired and how it can eventually be returned for responsible recycling.
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