12 hours ago
Fast tech: Handheld fan sales take off as waste soars
New research found that Brits purchased a staggering 7.1 million mini-fans in the last year alone, ITV News Consumer Editor Chris Choi reports
Words by Consumer Producer Rachael Allison
As temperatures rise, so too does the UK's obsession with handheld fans - but experts are warning that these cooling gadgets could be harming the environment.
New research from Material Focus - a charity behind the Recycle Your Electricals campaign - found that Brits purchased a staggering 7.1 million mini-fans in the last year alone.
Demand for the devices is climbing fast, with Google searches for mini-fast up 16% in May compared to the same time last year.
But what happens when the sun sets?
A staggering 3.4 million handheld fans are already sitting unused or have been binned - part of a wider issue known as FastTech: small, cheap electrical items that are increasingly treated as disposable.
Over a billion FastTech items are bought in the UK each year, double the number from 2023, with over half ending up discarded.
Consumer expert Professor Cathrine Jansson-Boyd draws comparisons to fast fashion: 'FastTech is growing as quickly as fast fashion and is going to have a similar negative impact, as it ends up in landfill and has a detrimental environmental impact.'
But, despite the swell in consumption habits, there is still optimism that the cycle can be broken by shoppers.
Charlotte Blockley, a TikTok tech reviewer, said: 'I don't think people should be disposing of these because you could be using them year after year.
'Some of mine I've had since 2023 - there is no need to dispose of them after you've used them for one summer.
'Just pop them in a drawer, a cupboard or whatever, and get them out the next summer.'
Material Focus advises people looking to throw products away to head to one of the UK's 30,000 drop-off points for electrical recycling.
Find your nearest recycling drop-off at Recycle Your Electricals.
