Mini fans fanning the flames of the FastTech crisis

• The UK bought 7.1m mini-fans in the last year, but with Google searches in May this year already up 16% compared to May 2024 and June heating up fast – the upward trend is growing.
• Mini fans, like other FastTech items (cheap, small electricals) are quickly binned – 3.4m mini-fans already binned or unused during the past year.
• All FastTech, are cheap, and seen as disposable  – with 12.2m of these easy-to-buy items bought for £1 or less in the last year.
• FastTech has fast-gripped the nation. It’s no wonder the tech trend is growing as fast as fast fashion.
• Over a billion (1.14bn) FastTech items are bought per annum – double since 2023, and enough to cover 4,398 football pitches.
• Total spend on FastTech has nearly quadrupled from £2.8bn in 2023 to £11.6bn. 
• And the UK has already binned over half – 589m FastTech items a year. That’s a mind-boggling 11.3m items every week or 19 items a second.
• With 30,000 drop off points across the UK, recycling FastTech electricals has never been easier. Campaigners are calling on the nation to make sure FastTech is NEVER binned.

New research from the Recycle Your Electricals campaign has revealed that as temperatures soar, so do purchases of the UK’s hottest trending FastTech electrical – mini-fans. With a peak of 31℃ expected this June, it’s no surprise that Google Trend data shows demand for mini-fans continues to increase, with searches for the cooling tech up 16% YOY in May, and overall yearly searches continuing to rise.

Heatwaves are an example of the type of “moments’ that spark those quick ‘in-the-moment’ FastTech purchases. But it’s not just fans that adults are impulse buying – research proves that the UK’s wider hunger for FastTech continues to increase exponentially and, with that, so does the rate at which this cheap tech is binned. The equivalent of 55% of items bought per annum are now binned or tucked away, forgotten in a drawer.  

The ‘FastTech’ trend shows no sign of slowing down, as consumer expert Professor Cathrine Jansson-Boyd suggests that FastTech is growing at a similar rate to FastFashion, it is clear to see how FastTech is a fast-growing serious global issue.  Annual spend on FastTech has grown from £2.8 billion to £11.6bn between 2023 to 2025 with 84% of the UK population buying FastTech in the last year, with each adult owning, on average, 21 items. The FastTech trend is now spawning its own “fad” items too, with 7.9m sunset light projectors, light-up toilet seats, mini karaoke machines and LED balloons sold during the last 12 months.

Cathrine comments: “FastTech is growing as quickly as fast fashion and is going to have a similar negative impact, as it ends up in landfill and has a detrimental environmental impact. Like fast fashion, we can change things for the better though. That starts by making sure we don’t see these items as disposable, being more conscious of what we buy in the first place, and at the very least, we recycle FastTech when we’re finished with it.”

Both fast fashion and FastTech refer to everyday, cheaper, mass-produced items, such as mini-fans, earbuds,  LED lights, cables and cost as little as £1 and on average £12. The amount of FastTech binned has increased by 25% from 471m in 2023 to 589m items in 2024/25 – this means we are now binning the equivalent of 2,278 football pitches worth of tech a year. 

But it’s not just the binned items contributing to the waste crisis. Nearly 22m items of FastTech are unused after just one month. This means valuable metals like lithium, copper and even gold sit in ‘drawers of doom’ or are thrown away. Copper demand is set to outstrip supply by 2030.

Despite containing valuable metals, FastTech is seen as disposable by over a third of Brits, likely because it is so cheap 12.2m of these easy-to-buy items bought for £1 or less.

Scott Butler, Executive Director, Material Focus, which runs the Recycle Your Electricals campaign, says,  “We had fast food, then fast fashion, now FastTech. It’s cheap, it’s easy to buy and it ends up in the bin.

FastTech might be cheap but it’s not disposable. In fact, anything with a plug, battery or cable should never be binned. They’re full of useful metals and can be used again. I won’t judge you for buying a light-up toilet seat, ok maybe a little bit.  Think before you buy your latest FastTech item, and if  you do really need it.  When the novelty’s worn off, just make sure you visit our recycling locator, where you’ll find how quick and easy it is to make sure tech doesn’t end up in bins. 70% of us now recycle unwanted electricals, let’s apply that to the small and cheap ones, too.”

Recycle Your Electricals has teamed up with fashion sustainability advocate, host of the Fashion Our Future podcast and creator of the The Mindful Monday Method, Andrea Cheong to urge Brits to take action on FastTech. Andrea says: “Thanks to fast fashion, we’ve seen the quality of our clothes decline over the last few years. Similarly, the durability of our electricals has dropped too, thanks to FastTech. The unrealistic, low prices of FastTech encourages impulse purchases and makes them feel easy to dispose of. This all adds up. It’s not beneficial to our wallets, and it’s a drain on the earth’s natural resources. The key is knowing what actions we can take, to feel empowered amidst these challenges. This includes repairing what we can, buying less often, and making sure anything with a plug, battery or cable is repaired, donated, or recycled.”

As the market grows, it is clear to see how the trend of FastTech, similar to fast fashion, will continue to create a major environmental challenge. FastTech waste contains valuable materials, such as gold, aluminium, and lithium which are being lost forever binned or stored. These precious resources could instead be reclaimed and reused to support the growth of the green economy, become wind turbines, life-saving medical devices or even children’s playground equipment and electric vehicles.  

Reassuringly, Professor Cathrine Jansson-Boyd says that it’s easier than ever to make a difference. Her tips for recycling your electricals include: 

Finding it difficult to be a planet friendly tech user? 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 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. 

• 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. 
• 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.
• 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.
• 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. 
• 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. 
• 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.

UK residents can find their nearest drop off point thanks to Recycle Your Electricals Recycling Locator, which has over 30,000 recycling points.  

Other key findings from the research:

• 51% FastTech items are binned
• 21% of UK adults have unused FastTech
• 60m non-rechargeable batteries, 22m cables and 18m lights thrown away in 12 months. 

ENDS

For more information: materialfocus@welcometoshook.com

Notes to Editors:

Report comprises:

• Opinium research conducted for Material Focus. Titled FastTech – State of the Nation 2025, dated 20 March – 30 March 2025.  A nationally-representative sample of 4,000 UK adults was weighted to be representative of UK adults (18+) on age and gender, region, working status, and social grade.
• Opinium research conducted for Material Focus. Titled FastTech Rerun, dated 22 April – 28 April. A nationally-representative sample of 4,000 UK adults was weighted to be representative of UK adults (18+) on age and gender, region, working status, and social grade.
• Opinium research conducted for Material Focus on vapes. 18th – 24th October 2024. 778 UK 16+ who bought a vape in the last year. Weighted to be representative of the UK 16+ population that bought a vape in the past 12 months. 
• YouGov research commissioned by Material Focus on vapes –  30th June – 31st August 2023. 
• Opinium research conducted for Material Focus. Titled FastTech research, dated 14 July 2023 – 18 July 2023 and 21 July 2023 – 25 July 2023. A nationally-representative sample of 4,000 UK adults was selected to ensure a representative distribution across key demographic factors such as age, gender, region, and socio-economic status.
• Recycling information provided by Material Focus 

For more details on how your organisation can get involved and raise awareness of recycling electricals please email hello@materialfocus.org.uk.

About Material Focus

Material Focus is a not-for-profit organisation whose goal is to stop the nation throwing away or hoarding all their old, small electricals. Material Focus is delivering 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.

The campaign is funded by producers of electrical appliances which pays for a range of activities, including communications, behaviour change activities, increased recycling projects and research. Ultimately the aim is to support actions that will help the UK increase the levels of reuse and recycling of waste electricals.

Where do consumers buy their FastTech

Retailers where consumers buy FastTech:
1	Amazon	53%
2	Ebay	14%
3	Tesco	13%
4	Argos	11%
5	B&M	9%
6	Home Bargains	8%
6	Temu	8%
7	Asda	7%
7	Sainsbury’s	7%
8	Curry’s	6%
9	Poundland	6%
10	Boots	5%
10	John Lewis	5%