Retailers across the UK are taking a bigger role in what happens to unwanted phones, laptops, cables and electrical goods once customers decide they have had enough of them.
The approaches of different retailers vary. For example, some brands are offering cash or discounts for old devices, while others are taking unwanted electricals for recycling.
The launch of different schemes has come at an important moment in the tech sector. Research commissioned by Currys found that UK households are sitting on an estimated 880 million unused electrical items, equivalent to around 30 per household. Four in five people said they still had an old mobile phone, while one in three had kept their first-ever handset.
Here are some of the approaches the biggest names in retail and technology are taking to tackling the problem.
Currys
Currys has built one of the broadest take-back operations in UK electrical retail, combining recycling with repair, refurbishment and trade-in schemes.
Launched in March 2022, its Cash for Trash programme allows customers to bring unwanted electrical items into stores in return for a money-off voucher, while its trade-in operation gives customers a financial value for eligible devices. The retailer also sells refurbished technology through its own website, stores and eBay outlet.
The scale of the operation is substantial. While the company has not published a full breakdown of how many were refurbished, stripped for parts or recycled, saying the routes are complicated and can overlap, Currys said it collected 5.5 million items of e-waste for reuse and recycling across the group last year.
Moira Thomas, Currys’ head of sustainability, told Retail Gazette that parts from unwanted devices can be harvested and used in the retailer’s repair operation at Newark, helping extend the life of other customers’ technology.
“We’ve got a nice ecosystem of things customers can choose when they come to Currys,” she said, including recycling, repair and refurbished products.
Its latest Track the Tech campaign is designed to show customers what happens after a device is handed over. The journey can involve secure data wiping, refurbishment, reuse, parts harvesting or recycling.
The company says its research found that 23 per cent of people did not know how to recycle old technology, while 33 per cent had simply not got round to doing it.
Virgin Media O2
Virgin Media O2 is taking a slightly different approach, putting the circular economy directly into its O2 stores.
Its latest initiative, the O2 Tech Refab Lab, is being trialled at its flagship store in Westfield Stratford City. Launched this week, the interactive zone shows customers what happens to phones traded in through O2 Recycle, including secure data wiping and refurbishment to a “Like New” standard.
The company said more than 85,500 devices were given a second life through O2 Recycle in 2025, while customers received £6.6m from trading in unwanted technology.
O2 Recycle is open to customers regardless of which mobile network they use. Virgin Media O2 said customers received an average of £148 when trading in an eligible smartphone in its latest announcement.
The retailer is also trying to make the case for reuse beyond financial incentives. Through Community Calling, a partnership between Virgin Media O2 and environmental charity Hubbub, unwanted phones can be passed to people who need them.
The company’s latest research found that 66 per cent of people wanted to better understand how devices could be reused, while 67 per cent said they would be more likely to buy a refurbished phone if they could see one in person first.
Virgin Media O2 has set an ambition to double the number of customers buying refurbished devices and recycling unwanted technology through O2 Recycle by 2030.
John Lewis
John Lewis and Waitrose take a more straightforward approach to recycling tech, with schemes that give customers a place to hand over or ‘bin’ unwanted electrical equipment in stores.
Customers can take old electrical items to John Lewis’s Customer Collection Point or Tech Support Desk, while Waitrose customers can use the Welcome Desk. The item does not have to have been bought from the retailer.
For smaller electrical items, measuring less than 25cm on their longest side, the retailers will accept them without a new purchase. However, for larger products, the current service operates on a like-for-like basis when a customer is buying a replacement.
The partnership says the scheme matters because electrical goods contain materials that can be recovered, while some also contain substances that can cause environmental problems if they end up in landfill.
B&Q
For B&Q, its version of tech recycling schemes for customers focuses is on making small electrical recycling part of the ordinary store visit.
The DIY retailer has recycling units in its stores where customers can drop off unwanted small electrical and electronic items free of charge. The bins also accept batteries, light bulbs and fluorescent tubes.
The retailer gives examples including old toasters, kettles and hairdryers, meaning its scheme is aimed less at the mobile-phone trade-in market and more at the smaller electrical goods that can otherwise be difficult for households to dispose of.
B&Q has also moved further into refurbishment. The retailer says it has been investing in its ability to recover and refurbish more products and now sells refurbished goods online.
That puts recycling and resale alongside one another: products that still have useful life can potentially be recovered and sold, while those that cannot be reused can enter the recycling stream.
Apple
Apple’s approach splits unwanted devices into two broad categories: those valuable enough to trade in and those that are no longer usable.
Through Apple Trade In, customers can get an estimate for an eligible device online and send it in using Apple’s service or take it to an Apple Store. Depending on the device and its condition, customers can receive credit towards a new purchase or an Apple Gift Card.
But Apple also accepts devices that have no trade-in value. Its UK recycling programme covers Apple hardware as well as items including batteries, cables, cases, accessories and monitors. Apple says these items are assessed for reuse or recycling and processed through its recycling system.
The scheme originally launched in 2013 as the “iPhone Reuse and Recycle Program,” and serves as part of Apple’s circular economy and sustainability push, in a bid to meet its 2030 carbon-neutral goal.
The tech retailer says since 2013, it has redirected over 12.8 million refurbished devices and accessories to new owners in a single year through its combined AppleCare and Apple Trade In programs.
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