As the UK’s biggest electrical retailer, we see a whole lot of e-waste. No surprises there. But did you know we collect, re-use and recycle a massive 65,000 tonnes of old tech every year? Probably not!
So if you’ve done the responsible thing and recycled your tech, you might be wondering where it goes. Well, we’re going to give you the lowdown on what happens to your old tech when we recycle it: what we do with old packaging, any small bits of tech and what happens to those big appliances.
Let’s pick it up
First thing’s first, our delivery and installation team head over to your house fit your brand-new kitchen appliance. But while they’re there, they can also take away your old one to be recycled.
And at the same time, you can give us any of your smaller electrics, like a broken kettle or microwave you’ve been meaning to get rid of. You don’t even need to have brought them from us!
Not having an item delivered? No worries. You can drop off any old tech at our stores. Plus, when you drop them off with us directly, we’ll recycle them for free.
Packaging gets repurposed!
What do we do with all the packaging? Well, we’ll clear it up for you- it’s a bit much for your average recycling bin! The team will take it with them and send it off to be recycled. Those old bits of packaging will make shiny new carrier bags, new packaging and could even be used to insulate new homes.
What happens to small appliances?
The small stuff will be given to one of our recycling partners. They’ll check if it can be reused and, if not, they’ll take it apart so the important resources can be made into something new!
What happens to big appliances?
We take big appliances back to one of our Home Delivery Depots. Once there, one of our onsite reuse partners will take a look at the old appliance and judge whether it can be fixed or whether it’s beyond repair.
If it’s got some life in it still, they’ll take it away to be re-loved. They’ll clean it, refurbish it, test it for safety and then give it to one of hundreds of community causes across the UK. Through one of our partners, the Reuse Network, we’ve helped over 93,000 low income households access high quality refurbished white goods, saving £17million for them and 7,500 tonnes of CO2 for the planet.
But if your appliance isn’t up to scratch, we’ve got other plans for it. We send it to our nearest recycling partners. They’ll break down the old stuff, making sure all the useful materials are recovered and ready to be made into new products, maybe even new tech.
We like to make sure nothing gets wasted. And that’s about more than helping the planet. It’s about helping people too- like one of those community causes I mentioned. Or a partner like the British Heart Foundation, who we help recycle unwanted or unsafe e-waste.
How to recycle your tech
So, if you want to recycle your tech responsibly, book in an appointment with us. You can click here to find out more. Or just show up to one of our stores with your tech and we’ll recycle it for free, even if you didn’t buy it from us. It’s the easy way to go green!
Installation and Recycling charges may apply for large appliances. Large appliance will need to be disconnected & drained of any water or ice. Subject to availability. Visit currys.co.uk and search “delivery” for full T&Cs.
