Listen: Britons sitting on £17bn of hoarding electricals

Reuse, reduce, recycle. The three key factors to consider when thinking about recycling. However, latest research shows if Britons monetised their recycling habits by cashing in old electricals it would save both the economy and the environment.

YouGov research on behalf of the Recycle Your Electricals campaign shows that Brits hoard £17 billion worth of “electrical-waste” and 45% of people across the UK are unaware that old electricals contain finite materials such as copper, gold, aluminium, steel and plastic. The campaign launches ‘Cash in Your Electricals’ and calls on people in the UK to sell, donate or recycle their old, hoarded electricals – worth an average resale value of £620 per household, to help themselves or their communities through the recession.

On average the nation has one unused laptop and one unused tablet per
household. The average price that could be achieved selling the laptop is £159 whilst the tablet could fetch an average price of £99. Mobile phones can command an average of £55 and game consoles £119.

Aston spoke to financial guru Paul Lewis (who presents on BBC Radio 4’s Moneybox), Paul was on hand to offer expert advise on how Britons can recession-proof their finances as well as shine a light on what we can do with our electricals during this economically and socially challenging time.