5th December 2025
Cathrine Jansson-Boyd on the Psychology behind panic buying and the reasons we do it
We all know that gift giving and putting up festive fairy lights are part of what makes Christmas so magical. So much so, that last Christmas alone, 443 million FastTech items flooded the country for the festive season alone, but 168m light-up FastTech and FastTech gifts ended up in the bin. While Christmas is the time for gifts, there are several easy things you can do to avoid the presents you give others ending up in landfill – these are summarised within these top ten responsible gifting tips below.
- Leave yourself plenty of time. If you want to give a meaningful gift to someone, don’t leave the shopping to the last minute! Leaving enough time means you can avoid making impulse purchases, When under pressure, you are more likely to be seduced by cute little things that lack functionality, as well as big discounts. Having enough time also means you can consider the recipient’s interests. Gifting something that reflects who they are shows empathy and care, making for a positive experience for both the giver and receiver.
- Don’t worry about the size of the gift! Forget about trying to fit your presents into stockings. Something bigger can always be left on the side if needed – what’s important is that the present will be appreciated.
- Consider personal preferences. Some items are better to avoid gifting, such as electronic goods, as people often have preferences for ‘specific’ models, which may be tricky to get right. It might also be tempting to purchase fun tech items that light up, but statistics suggest that 43% of all those bought are not used.
- Try to ensure long-term enjoyment. People tend to prefer to receive items they will use repeatedly, which means gifting practical items in everyday life can be a good idea. When purchasing these, it’s best to consider the durability over time – for example, gifting a good torch that can be used for the next 10 years rather than a miniature one, just because it is cute. The smaller, less practical torch would be more likely to be quickly disposed of.
- Don’t go rogue. If the person you are buying for has asked for something specific or even given you a list, then buy that. Research has found that recipients are more appreciative of gifts they have asked for than those they did not ask for.
- Keep it simple. Ensure that what you are giving is easy to use. Most people show a preference for gifts they can use with ease. Avoid items that come with long manuals or a gadget that requires unusually sized batteries that most people are unlikely to have spares of at home.
- Give an experience. Giving someone an experience like hosting a friend for dinner or an exercise class can make the recipient feel closer to the person who gave it.
- Consider Charity donations. If you are unsure about what to buy, think about giving something to charity on behalf of a friend or loved one, as they are more likely to appreciate it than some random gift they did not really want.
- Think ahead about how items will be disposed of. Christmas is not just the time of giving but also a time when people create a lot of waste. Not just from presents but also from food, tatty tinsel, or broken Christmas lights and alike. Therefore, it is key to think about the best way to dispose of them, as there are teams of heroes across the waste stream working tirelessly to raise mass awareness of how we can all recycle and dispose of batteries safely.
- Use the Recycle Your Electricals Postcode Locator. If you get some cool new tech, make sure that you know how to dispose of the old ones, so you don’t just leave them lying in a drawer. Getting rid of clutter will give you a great new year feel. Remember that anything with a plug, cable or battery can be reused or recycled, and you can use the Recycle Your Electricals postcode locator to find the nearest point to you. This is super easy to do as there are over 30,000 drop-off points in the UK.
24th June 2025
Tech and electricals are amazing, they keep our clothes clean and our food fresh, they keep us warm, connected to friends and family and even save lives. They’re also full of valuable, critical and finite materials. So, we need to treat them with respect and buy, use and dispose of them responsibly.
Here are some top tips from Professor Cathrine Jansson-Boyd on what you can do to make sure that these items are used responsibly and when you don’t need them, how to re-use or recycle them.
1. Think before you buy – Before you buy any new tech, think about whether you actually need it. If you think you are only going to use it once or twice, don’t buy it! You should be planning to use it regularly.
2. Take a break – If you are unsure about what you are buying, give yourself some space and time to consider it. Have a cup of tea or look in another shop – going off to do something else might make you realise that you no longer want it. Taking some time out before buying something also helps you to resist making impulse buys. If you do something else for a few minutes, the adrenaline rush settles and you are less likely to buy the item on offer.
3. Try second hand – Check if what you want can be bought second hand, it might very well be that a local charity shop or second-hand online platform such as Vinted or eBay has what you need.
4. Don’t be fooled by flashy deals – Don’t get seduced into buying more than you need. Discounts, 3 for 2 offers, sales for limited times are all strategies to get you to experience an adrenaline rush. It makes you get carried away and you may end up with an unwanted purchase.
5. Repair before you replace – If something breaks, check if it can be repaired. Many high street stores, like Currys, offer repairs. Or go online and look for the closest repair shop.
6. Give your tech a second life – when you are done with your tech, never shove it in a drawer. If you do it is likely it will be there for a long time as you will forget about them. Stick with the ‘one touch rule’. When you get your hands on the tech, and if it’s broken deal with it there and then by popping it into a bag or a box ready to be recycled.
Think about giving it to a neighbour with kids, put it on eBay or donate it to charity. Schools, nurseries, libraries, and hospitals often welcome tech donations if they are in good condition. Never put unwanted tech in your bin, anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled.
If in doubt about where you can repair, donate, or recycle, help is at hand, use the Recycle your Electricals’ postcode locator – there’s almost 30,000 locations across the country.
You can also keep a box or bag in your home to store your unwanted tech items, then when it is full take it to be recycled. The key is to try and make it as easy as possible for you.
Behaviour changes don’t usually happen automatically. So, if you think about what to do every day, for around 6 weeks, you will find it becomes second nature to do what is best for the environment. And you will find that you do your bit for the environment without having to think about it. Bonus!
17th May 2024
Many of us have a ‘drawer of doom’. Among the old post-it notes, dried-out pens, tarnished coins and random hair accessories usually lie used batteries – from AAs and AAAs to button cells and torch batteries. And don’t forget the other items with hidden batteries that we stash away in cardboard boxes and cupboards, like old mobile phones, vapes or kids’ toys.
There’s little point in holding onto these batteries and unused electricals. But when you do get around to disposing of them, never put them in the bin!
Why you should never bin hidden or loose batteries
When hidden and loose batteries are thrown in with general rubbish, they can get crushed in bin lorries and at recycling centres and spark dangerous fires. Last year alone, there were over 1,200 preventable battery fires across the UK, which led to significant air pollution spikes and danger to the local community.
Batteries also contain some of the most valuable materials on earth that are infinitely recyclable. We lose these materials forever when we throw batteries and electricals containing hidden batteries in the bin.
So remember to always recycle them separately from your household rubbish or recycling by using a designated drop-off point for batteries and electricals.
Fire services warns of the dangers
Battery-related fires are particularly challenging to deal with because of the hazardous chemicals. “These fires can be explosive and spread rapidly with the risk of reignition and toxic gasses a risk to firefighters,” explains Mark Andrews, Waste and Recycling Fires Lead for the National Fire Chiefs Council. “To control and fully extinguish the fire requires large numbers of firefighters and drains finite fire service resources, creating further risks to the community.”
“You only have to view live footage of a lithium-ion battery fire to see the scarily rapid rate of development which makes these incidents particularly hazardous and volatile,” adds James Bull, Station Commander for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. “They can take many fire service resources to tackle them and they are notoriously difficult to extinguish given that the flame heat release rate from a lithium-ion battery fire can be 7 times more intense than a traditional flame.”
These preventable fires are not only time consuming for firefighters, but also unnecessarily endanger their lives and the lives of those working on lorries and at waste plants.
The impact of battery fires on the community
Battery fires are not only putting fire services and waste plant staff at risk; they also have a significant impact on local communities.
Herne Hill in South London experienced a battery fire last September (2023), where a fire broke out at a waste transfer station caused by a binned battery. The fire lasted over 4 days, covering a very densely populated area in a pall of smoke.
Families like Bethan Taylor-Smith’s faced dangerous repercussions. “We live half a mile from the scene of the fire and the smoke was so bad we were advised to close our windows and stay indoors for the duration of the incident – four days, in the middle of a heatwave! My toddler started having breathing issues and developed a cough, and things got so bad we visited a walk-in centre and eventually A&E. In the end, we went to stay with family for a few days so that our daughter and dog could enjoy time outside.”
“We were all concerned about the length of time that the fire burned for and how this affected the local community, especially given how some residents were forced to move out of the area because of the impact this had on their health and due to the fact they were unable to go outside during a national heatwave,” adds Councillor Jim Dickson, Herne Hill Ward & Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, Lambeth. “Fires like these could be so easily prevented by ensuring that batteries are recycled.”
Battery fires are causing air pollution spikes
Battery fires like this also cause significant spikes in air pollution, as found by Professor Frank Kelly from the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London. “Our analysis of fires at waste sites in Herne Hill and Brentford showed they contributed to the local pollution burden, with the fire in Herne Hill clearly leading to exceedances in the WHO health-based guideline for PM2.5.”
Air pollution is not only a serious environmental concern, but a health concern too. Studies show that spikes cause hundreds of cardiac arrest and strokes in the UK and particularly affect those with health conditions.
“The health impacts of waste fires, including respiratory issues, are of great concern, and we’d advise that residents avoid opening windows at all costs while local air pollution concentrations are elevated and that everyone should wear a mask if they absolutely must venture outside while the fire is burning,” adds Professor Kelly. “The status of local air quality can be checked on www.londonair.org.uk”.
The science behind battery hazards
It’s easy to think something so small won’t matter. But if we throw batteries and electricals in with our general rubbish, they can get crushed or punctured in bin lorries and waste centres. This releases chemicals, which, when they come into contact with the air, can spark serious and dangerous fires.
Battery-related fires can be explosive and spread rapidly, with re-ignition and toxic gases posing a huge risk to firefighters.
Such incidents also pollute the atmosphere and cause health issues for local residents, schools and businesses, raising serious concerns among public health officials and firefighters.
Getting rid of your old batteries and electricals
“Something as simple as recycling your small electricals correctly can go a long way in preventing lithium-ion battery fires,” Laura Fisher, re3 Operational Manager for FCC Environment.
The only safe way and responsible to dispose of old batteries and electricals is by recycling them. Make sure you recycle them separately from your household rubbish and recycling. Find a designated drop-off point for batteries and electricals.
28th March 2024
Decluttering extraordinaire Vicky Silverton shares her top tips for decluttering your home of old electricals, and how to get organised to sell, donate or recycle them.
Written by decluttering expert, Vicky Silverthorn
The key is to get started and stop seeing your home as one giant task that you have an urgency to complete. Chipping away at your home is a great way to declutter, so start with something small like a drawer or a shelf, nothing more.
People often get disheartened when they don’t initially get rid of as much as they’d have hoped to. Don’t worry if you feel like that. Letting things go can be a really emotional process. You can feel really attached to things sometimes, even if they’re just functional items with no sentimental attachment. Always revisit areas you have worked on days or weeks later and you’ll probably find you pick out additional items to go
#1 Get organised
If you are having a clear out of your home, get your rubbish bag, recycling bag, box for charity and box for any electrical recycling at the ready. You need somewhere to put things so you’re not tempted to just shove them back in the cupboard. If you are selling old electricals, be realistic as to how much time you have to get this done. You don’t want to end up storing bags and bags of resale belongings which you simply don’t have the time to sort, list and post.
#2 Small wins are better than no wins!
It doesn’t matter how much you get through, as long as you follow a simple rule – only start an area you can complete. Work on it, complete it and then stop. If you leave an area unfinished at the end of the day, it can leave that defeated feeling and you may not want to begin again. The aim is to finish on a high – even tackling small areas can give you the biggest buzz.
#3 Don’t let tech stop you in your tracks
What to do with old technology often makes people stop in their tracks when they’re having a clear out. Why don’t we want to get rid of it? Perhaps because it could still be useful or it cost a lot? See the potential if we donated or recycled old technology. The alternative? It will sit in a box for the next ten years when it could be having a second life. Don’t forget to remove batteries from old electricals! These should always be recycled separately, as otherwise they can cause fires in the waste stream.
#4 Don’t make ‘bin’ your decluttering default
You may be surprised that the majority of things you clear out can be reused or recycled. Do some research and check out Recycle Your Electricals website for information on what to do with your old electricals – did you know anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled – including the plugs, batteries and cable themselves? Clothes, shoes, books, wood, toys, ornaments, batteries, other small electricals – there is somewhere for all of it to go and you’re likely to have a drop off point near you – just check out the Recycling Locator which has a whopping 22,000 places you can recycle your electricals.
#5 A simple snap can save a lot of space
Did you know a photograph of an object can spark the same memory as the actual object itself? This means you don’t always need to keep an item you are holding onto sentimentally! This is especially useful for bulky items you are only keeping because they have memories attached to them. Try taking a photograph and see how it makes you feel. It may help you let go and clear the space.
Remember, anything with a plug, battery or cable, and it’s made so easy by using Recycle Your Electricals’ Recycling Locator. Happy decluttering!
6th October 2023
Kids toys cluttering up your home? Kick start your clear out with these top tips from decluttering expert Vicky Silverthorn and avoid accumulating any more e-waste this Autumn.
Written by decluttering expert, Vicky Silverthorn
In today’s fast-paced world, electrical toys have become a ubiquitous part of childhood. But as all parents know, kids outgrow things quickly and toys can easily pile up — in our cupboards, under the bed, in the toy chest… In fact, new research from Recycle Your Electricals revealed that toys are one of the electrical items most likely to be gathering dust in the nation’s cupboards – with nearly 7.5 million unused barbie dream houses, remote control cars, baby toys and electrical kids toys across the UK!
Not only that but an unbelievable 3 million toys – around enough to fill Hamleys Regent Street (Britain’s biggest toy store) nearly 14 times over – have been sent to landfill in the last six months. These could have been recycled into items such as life-saving medical equipment, playgrounds or wind turbines, thanks to the valuable materials inside.
In this blog I’ll take you through my top tips for freeing up space, emptying out toy boxes guilt-free and finding toy donations or recycling points near you. And decluttering isn’t just about tidying up; it helps give kids the right environment for creative play. The best news is, you don’t have to feel bad about it because toys can either go on to a worthy cause or be recycled into something useful!
#1 Keep storage simple
Don’t over-complicate the way you store toys. Children love being able to easily grab what they want to play with, they don’t love battling with colour-coding or intricate levels of organisation. Use baskets and drawers and always put them back in the same location to create a natural system.
#2 Recycle & Reuse
Never throw out electrical or battery-operated toys. If they’re in good working order, you can donate them through toy charities. If they no longer work, you can recycle them. Just find your local donation or recycling drop off point – there are 16,000 across the country, which you can find using the Recycling Locator! You will most likely see a designated space for small electricals. Remember to take out batteries (and recycle them too) before you pass things on.
#3 Get your children involved
Getting kids involved in the decluttering process will create good habits. Whilst decluttering with my daughter, I leave a small manageable pile for us to go through together, making it a really positive process – instead of “You’re too old to play with this now”, you could say “Do you think another child would enjoy this more, now you have your new toy you love so much?” or “We won’t have enough room for your new toys when it’s your birthday!”.
#4 Organise your toy wires, cables, and chargers!
If you don’t know where something is, then it could end up being replaced unnecessarily! Organise your toy chargers and cables and give them a designated home. Divide them into the categories that work for you whether it’s by brand or by type. Put a label on the plug or even around the wire so you can find what you are looking for easily. Putting the work in initially will save you time and money long term!
#5 Store properly
Saving children’s toys for future siblings is a fantastic idea. However, it’s important to store these properly – especially e-toys. The batteries should be taken out before being packed away. Batteries could leak and stop the toys from working in the future, so it’s worth taking the time to do it properly. As always, make sure you’re not throwing the old batteries away in the bin but recycling them, too.
#6 Focus
Studies show that having less mess around can create better focus. This means children will benefit from their play areas being kept tidy. The magic answer here is to ensure the number of toys you have doesn’t outweigh the space and storage you have to house them. When things start to overflow it’s most likely time for a declutter.
#7 Too many toys
Did you know too many toys can cause children stress? Think about when you have too many clothes in your wardrobe and you have to fight to find what you need. The choices are overwhelming and decisions are harder. This is the same feeling your child gets, only with their young developing minds, they can’t understand why. Ensure toys aren’t crammed in their storage spaces, check that they are easy to access and ensure the amount and the choices aren’t overwhelming.
