Safe and easy ways to recycle electricals – and even get money for your old gadgets

The Guardian

27-05-2025

Batteries can start fires if they are not disposed of properly, so it is important not to throw them away in your regular bin. Instead, look for recycling bins for used or old household batteries near the entrance or customer service desk of a supermarket. Most of the big ones have them including Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl and Aldi. You will even find them in some libraries.
Most standard types of batteries can be recycled. Rechargeable ones are usually accepted too, as long as they are not swollen or leaking. Disposable and rechargeable vapes can, and should, also go in these bins because of the hazardous lithium-ion batteries in them.
Before dropping used batteries off at a recycling point, store them safely at home. Keep them in a lidded container, such as an empty jam jar or takeaway tub, and try to keep them away from metal objects such as keys and coins. For lithium batteries – the type often found in vapes, fitness trackers and digital thermometers – stick a small piece of masking tape over the terminals (the metal ends) to reduce the risk of fire.
If you can take the batteries out of other electronics such as laptops, mobile phones, electric toys, Bluetooth devices, shavers, electric toothbrushes and power bank chargers before you dispose of them, you can usually also recycle these in store. If they are hard to remove, you may have to visit your local recycling bin or centre to dispose of the whole product.
All those no-longer-usable chargers and tangled cables can go in with small electronics at Bring Bank recycling points. That includes old phone chargers, remote controls, electric razors, earphones, vapes and even broken fairy lights. If the device has a plug, uses batteries, needs charging or has a circuit board, it counts. These are known as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
These small drop-off points for electricals are popping up all over the country and are often run by local councils.
They are often tucked into residential streets or near supermarkets. The slots are usually quite small, so anything bigger than a toaster will probably need to go to the tip instead. Look on your local council's website to find your closest Bring Bank, or search on Recycle Your Electricals.
Your local tip – also known as a household waste recycling centre (HWRC) – will take almost anything that has a plug or uses batteries. That includes toasters, electric toothbrushes, radios, hairdryers, and vapes. Some tips have separate areas or bins for different types of waste, so you may need to separate any screens, white goods (such as fridges and microwaves), and small gadgets.
If you are not sure where to put things, ask one of the staff – they are usually keen to point you in the right direction.
You can typically take LED lightbulbs to the tip for recycling but you may find that there is a retailer nearby that has a collection point. Check the Recycle Now locator online – it will give you details of your nearest locations.
Check your council's website for information about what will be accepted there, and whether there are any restrictions on how much you can drop off at a time. You can take large electrical appliances such as fridges for no charge, though it is worth checking with your local council or the specific HWRC to confirm their policies.
In some areas, councils offer kerbside collection for small electrical appliances. For example, in parts of London, Oxfordshire and the West Midlands, you can leave items such as mobile phones, hairdryers or handheld games consoles in a standard carrier bag on top of your bin on collection day. Search for your council's recycling page online to see whether this is offered where you live.
You should check whether you need to reserve a spot in advance. For instance, in Solihull you need to book a collection. It is best to look on your local council's website to see whether it runs the service, and if you need to do anything beforehand.
AO, John Lewis and Currys operate collect and recycling schemes and will come and collect your items and dispose of them properly for a small fee. Typically this will be an add-on service if you are buying a new item from them and having it delivered.
At John Lewis, you can add collection and recycling of an old product to your basket when buying its replacement. The fee is £25 for most appliances, including fridges, ovens, dishwashers, TVs and washing machines. There are some exclusions, such as American-style fridge-freezers, which it does not collect or recycle.
With Currys, you can also add recycling to your basket when buying a new version of that product, which starts at £20, depending on what you want to recycle.
At AO, you do not have to buy a new appliance to use its service, which costs £30. However, you may have to pay extra if you do not disconnect the appliance in advance of collection so be sure to check.
If you have an old phone or tablet gathering dust in a drawer, you may be able to trade it in when buying a new one or you could resell it. Many households are holding on to more than £1,300 worth of unused but working tech, according to Material Focus, the organisation behind the Recycle Your Electricals campaign.
Apple, Samsung and Currys will usually give you money off a new device if you hand in your old one – sometimes even if it has seen better days. How much you get depends on the condition. Mobile networks such as EE and Vodafone also run trade-in schemes online or in their shops.
If your tech is too old to be worth anything, these companies should still take it off your hands for recycling if you are buying a new one from them.
You can also send your phone to Envirofone, where it will be recycled or refurbished and sold on depending on its condition. You'll usually get some money for it too.
Scott Butler, the executive director of Material Focus, says before you part with any tech you should wipe it clean by doing a factory reset and take out your SIM and memory card, as this will remove most personal data. 'We understand that some people aren't comfortable with selling or recycling their electricals – one in five adults in the UK are still holding on to unused electricals because they're concerned about how to delete and transfer the data properly,' he says.
You can find out how to delete your data online in a guide from Recycle Your Electricals.
If your electrical item still works and is in decent condition, you might be able to donate it instead of chucking it out. Broken or obviously unsafe items will not be accepted, so test things before donating.
Charities including the British Heart Foundation, Emmaus UK and Age UK accept working electronics, as long as they are clean and safe. They will carry out portable appliance testing (Pat) and basic safety checks to make sure the item is safe to use before reselling. If the item cannot be safely repaired, it is usually broken down and the materials recycled properly, so it is not wasted either way.
Some charities can collect larger items such as microwaves, ovens or vacuum cleaners for nothing, too. If you have cables, remote controls or instruction booklets, include them as well.