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Fish out your FadTech!
We have all received and bought kitchen FadTech gadgets that sounded great at the time. Everything from chocolate fountains and spiralizers, to ice-cream makers or even electric plate heaters (what? Those things to heat up dinner plates at fancy dinner parties? Yeah, those things.) I bet we all have a few of these stashed away in our kitchen cupboards or other storage….
Electrical waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK and globally. In the UK we are throwing away 155,000 tonnes of small electricals per year and have 527 million unused or broken items sitting somewhere at home, partly because we don’t know what to do with them – so in this post, with the help of Recycle Your Electricals, I’m going to tell you how.
How to Recycle Your Kitchen FadTech
What is FadTech?
FadTech is a type of technology that is very trendy for a short period of time, and has very little chance of practical usage far into the future. They often fade into obscurity and rarely amount to anything beyond entertainment and curiosity value. These can include popcorn makers, chocolate fountains and spiralizers, to yoghurt makers.
How much FadTech is being stashed away?
A lot. By that, I mean millions. Over 18 million FadTech items are stashed in kitchens across UK homes. Just taking up the space, doing nothing, gathering dust.
Like I mentioned, these are novelty items that once seemed like a good and fun idea, but we just don’t use them. Here are the top 20 FadTech items gathering dust at home – and I mean, the list does have some interesting items, doesn’t it?
Why do we have to deal with our FadTech stash?
Well, firstly, because we all want a clutter-free home, to know where things are and to have more space. FadTech we don’t use just sits in the storage and takes up space…No point keeping them if we don’t use them.
We have a lot of broken or unused kitchen (and other electrical) items we don’t know what to do with – like kettles, headphones, old mobile phones, etc.
We can’t just chuck them into the main bin… as this poses a major threat to the environment and to human health!
Importantly, they contain valuable metals like gold, lithium, copper, aluminium and steel, that when recycled could be turned into something useful, like children’s playgrounds or life-saving equipment. So donating (if they still work), or recycling old electricals is the best way to ensure those materials have a second life!
So what is the best thing to do with your unused electrical items?
Electrical items that are still functioning and in good working condition can be donated. The rest that aren’t working or are broken should be recycled responsibly.
To find where you can donate or recycle your kitchen FadTech (or anything with a battery, cable and plug) visit recycleyourelectricals.org.uk You can search for your postcode, add the type of items you want to donate or recycle, and the page will suggest your nearest drop-off points based on the item. Make sure you then visit the local drop-off point’s web page in case you need to book a slot for drop-off.
About Recycle Your Electricals
Material Focus is a not-for-profit organisation whose goal is to stop the nation throwing away or stashing unused electricals in the cupboard. Material Focus is leading the UK-wide Recycle Your Electricals campaign. The campaign is revealing the value hidden in electricals and is making it easier for us all to recycle and reuse the small electricals we no longer need by providing more recycling points as well as providing practical information on how households can reuse and recycle.