New research from Recycle Your Electricals reveals that the UK’s 1.3 billion unused or binned electricals, including 627m cables, could hold the answer to the nation’s fast approaching gap in the supply of copper to meet growing demand.
Additional new analysis from Bloomberg Intelligence shows that globally there will be a 6.5 million tonnes gap by 2033. The same report identifies that better recycling of copper could potentially meet the additional demand.
We’ve all got our own version of a ‘drawer of doom’ – a box, a bag under the bed, or a pile forgotten about in the loft – but these electricals and cables, plus those that have already been thrown away, contain a staggering £266m worth of copper, enough to provide 30% of the copper needed in our green future. Cables represent one of the UK’s biggest e-waste challenges – and one of the biggest copper opportunities as UK households are throwing away or holding onto on average 23 cables.
Research by the Critical Minerals Association has identified that cables contain at least 20% of copper – which means that across all UK households, we could extract an incredible 3,252 tonnes of copper in cables.
Scott Butler, Executive Director of Recycle Your Electricals, calls on us to clear out our ‘drawers of doom’ this October. “We need to start ‘urban mining’ and help protect the planet and nature from the harmful impacts of mining for raw materials and instead value and use what we have already. People may not realise that cables and electricals contain valuable materials, not just copper, and that if binned or stashed, we lose everything inside of them when we don’t recycle them into something new. That’s why we’re starting with the Great Cable Challenge. Doing the right thing by your old and unwanted electricals has never been easier; with over 26,000 recycling points around the UK. Just check our Recycling Locator for yours – anything with a plug, battery or cable can be reused and recycled and there’s somewhere near you to do it.”
In celebration of International E-Waste Day, Recycle Your Electricals is launching ‘The Great Cable Challenge’ – a nationwide campaign aimed at tackling the millions of cables sitting idle across UK households. It is calling on households, local authorities, retailers, schools and community projects across the UK to take part in the challenge and collectively recycle 1 million cables, helping to reduce e-waste. For more information, visit www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/international-e-waste-day-2024/.