According to Material Focus research, nearly half a billion small electricals were thrown away last year, including cables, lights, mini fans, and disposable vapes.

“Fast Tech” items, the electrical equivalent of fast fashion, are the fastest-growing type of e-waste.

According to the research, there are also 30 electrical items in the average home that are collecting dust.

It is possible to recycle all of these items because they contain valuable raw materials.

A survey was commissioned by Material Focus from Opinium Research among 2000 people. Using the responses, it calculates that 471 million “Fast Tech” items were thrown away in the UK last year.

Consumers often perceive these items as disposable due to their average cost of £4, despite the fact that they aren’t necessarily designed that way.

In addition to copper wires and lithium batteries, they all contain valuable raw materials that can be recovered through recycling.

“People may not realize that they contain valuable materials, so they throw them away instead of recycling them into new materials,” said Material Focus executive director Scott Butler. We want to get the message across that anything with a plug, battery, or cable can be recycled, and there’s somewhere near you to do it.”

A similar picture can be found around the world. Approximately 9 billion kilograms of cables, toys, vapes, novelty clothes, and similar devices are thrown away each year by consumers without realizing they are e-waste.

The research conducted by Material Focus also revealed that electrical waste has decreased since 2017. The reason for this is partly that many electrical items are lighter now, as well as the fact that recycling rates have increased. The number of people recycling their electrical items has increased to 60%.