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Currys launches 'Cash for Trash' trial to clean up e-waste

E-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, and notoriously hard to handle

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E-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, and notoriously hard to handle

UK tech store Currys is trialling a trade-in system to swap old, unwanted tech for money-off vouchers at any of its outlets, to support World Recycling Day on the 18th March.

Running from today until the 15th April, Currys will accept any tech item 'with a trade-in value', even if it's broken, for at least a £5 voucher. Sellers can also get cash, or put the money towards a higher-value item from the retailer.

Considering other trade-in schemes like Music Magpie can offer as little as 50p for old smartphones, that seems like a pretty good deal.

It's not only phones, though. Consumers can also trade in speakers, landline phones, laptops, TVs, headphones - even hair straighteners.

About 155,000 tonnes of tech goes to landfill every year in the UK, and about 53 million tonnes are generated worldwide - a figure expected to more than double by 2050.

This scheme isn't only aimed at tech being discarded, though; it also targets the unused gadgets sitting in homes and businesses across the country, which according to the Environmental Audit Committee represents about 527 million items.

The World Economic Forum has called e-waste 'the world's fastest-growing waste stream', and the UN has referred to it as 'a tsunami'. It is infamously difficult to dispose of, as it contains toxic materials like mercury and cadmium and the valuable materials like gold are tough to separate.

Currys already recycles about 5,500 tonnes of tech every month, and expects that number to increase sharply with the trial of the new scheme.

Chief supply chain officer Lindsay Haselhurst said, "We are already helping thousands of customers recycle unwanted tech every day.

"But Cash for Trash aims to take it to the next level. This trial is all about making recycling easy and rewarding.

"We're urging the nation to look in drawers, under the sofa and up in the loft - as these unused tech devices that have seen better days could be repaired, rehomed, or recycled into something new."

As always when recycling tech, it's important to ensure you wipe any and all personal or sensitive data from it first.

Currys launches 'Cash for Trash' trial to clean up e-waste

UK tech store Currys is trialling a trade-in system to swap old, unwanted tech for money-off vouchers at any of its outlets, to support World Recycling Day on the 18th March.

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