Sustainability Week 2026
This text is a part of a sequence of sustainability-themed articles we’re working to look at Earth Day 2026 and promote extra sustainable practices. Take a look at all of our Sustainability Week 2026 content material.
I’ve by no means felt the necessity to personal the most recent tech. In truth, I used to be nonetheless utilizing an iPhone 7 after I joined TechRadar in 2023, as a result of I by no means actually purchased into the improve cycle (actually, you in all probability don’t want a brand new cellphone each one to 2 years).
That modified shortly (perks of the job), however my basic strategy hasn’t. I nonetheless attempt to maintain my private tech to a minimal — nicely, as a lot as that’s doable while you write about devices for a residing. Admittedly, my thought of ‘minimal’ in all probability isn’t the identical as most individuals’s, although, so a little bit of context helps.
Trying on the UN Commerce and Growth information (referenced by Staista), the common particular person owned 9.4 gadgets in Western Europe and 13 within the US in 2023. These figures have probably climbed since then, however even a conservative estimate would put them nearer to 11 and 16 at the moment, respectively.
Article continues beneath
You could like
That makes me really feel a complete lot higher about myself as a result of my present tally of tech (not together with equipment like a MagSafe charger and transportable mouse) is 17. That features bigger tech home equipment like my robovac and occasional machine, however not gadgets I take advantage of that aren’t technically mine, like my work MacBook Professional 16-inch and associate’s Xbox Sequence X.
Tallying my unused tech that I maintain considering I’ll use once more
It is about time these previous devices cleared out of my home. (Picture credit score: Future)
On high of that, I’ve additionally bought a rising pile of devices tucked away in drawers and cabinets. From a thrifted Cambridge Audio amp and audio system to my trusty Canon DSLR (which I refuse to half with), this assortment has quietly constructed up over the 12 years I’ve lived in London.
Not counting my previous Nintendo 64 and iPod Basic saved again house, I discovered 11 unused devices, which roughly equate to a brand new machine virtually yearly. That’s truly proper consistent with a survey by musicMagpie, which discovered UK households have as much as 11 unused gadgets mendacity round.
And sure, I did use all of them in some unspecified time in the future. There was the transient part after I thought I’d develop into a journey vlogger and purchased a DJI Osmo Plus, and the part after I bought the Instax Mini Hyperlink 2 to economize on picture prints. Like most tech, they made sense on the time, however have since been deserted.
For no matter cause, whether or not it’s a brand new legislation that restricts drones weighing over 250g or just a much-needed improve, I’ve abandoned these once-loved devices — and I do know I’m not alone. MPB, an internet market for used digicam gear, discovered that there’s greater than £1 trillion price of unused tech in UK, EU, and US houses.
All of the methods I thought-about responsibly eliminating my unused tech
The UK’s new recycling guidelines have made it a lot simpler to recycle previous tech. (Picture credit score: Photograph by Elly Filho (through Unsplash))
Armed with my field of devices to go, I set about wanting into the very best methods to lastly do away with my overload of substances that I’d been hanging onto as a result of I’d someday use it once more. In fact, it’s not so simple as throwing it within the bin, particularly as a result of e-waste accommodates dangerous supplies. Regardless of this, in keeping with the Geneva Atmosphere Community, solely round 20% is correctly recycled globally.
As a primary port of name, I began by wanting into resale and trade-in choices — hey, with commerce tariffs and a RAM chip crunch driving up the price of tech, it is smart to leap on the secondhand market, proper? However with most of my gadgets over 5 years previous, their worth had dropped considerably. Quotes from resale platforms and trade-in applications like Swappa, Amazon Commerce-In, and BackMarket have been minimal and infrequently inadequate to justify the trouble.
What to learn subsequent
Exterior of repurposing the previous tech, that left two reasonable choices: cross them on to somebody who’ll truly use them or recycle them correctly. Fortunately, recycling has develop into simpler within the UK due to new guidelines that require massive retailers to supply free drop-off factors for small electronics and to gather bigger home equipment, making it way more handy than visiting your native waste assortment middle.
Off the again of those new circular-economy recycling guidelines, producers have additionally launched extra recycling and trade-in applications previously 12 months. The newest was Insta360 within the US, which can be accepting gear from different manufacturers like DJI, however there are additionally different massive names like Samsung. It’s worthwhile checking with a model straight, as many have partnered with third-party companies like Recommerce to launch or scale their trade-in applications.
If there’s one factor I realized from this entire expertise, it’s that possibly the neatest improve you’ll make this 12 months isn’t a brand new gadget. As an alternative, it’s lastly letting go of those we don’t use, and whereas Earth Day would possibly really feel like the precise second to do it, it is a behavior price preserving all 12 months spherical.
Comply with TechRadar on Google Information and add us as a most popular supply to get our professional information, opinions, and opinion in your feeds.
