Londoners can now donate their 108 million unwanted electricals at Sue Ryder stores

Media Release, 20th June 2024

Londoners can now donate the 108 million unwanted electricals held onto in their homes to charity thanks to a partnership between Recycle Your Electricals and Sue Ryder stores.

The initiative, led by Recycle Your Electricals in partnership with Sue Ryder, and supported by Curry’s will be a 3 month trial in 10 Sue Ryder stores across London. All donations will receive a £5 Currys Cash for Trash voucher.

108 million unwanted electrical items are unused in Londoners homes, on average 31 items per household, many of which could be given a new lease of life or donated to those in need. Research has shown that 74% of UK adults would donate to charity shops if the option were available.

Donated items will be PAT tested for safety and sold at affordable prices in Sue Ryder stores. The 10 Sue Ryder stores will accept unwanted working household electricals smaller than a microwave, including toasters, kettles, and hairdryers. The shops will accept any electricals including tech, such as TVs, phones and speakers. Full details of the types of items that Sue Ryder stores will accept as donations can be found here.  

Consumers are encouraged to bag up their unwanted working electrical items and take them to their nearest Sue Ryder store. To find your nearest store, visit recycleyourelectricals.org.uk.  

Wayne Hughes, Deputy Retail Regional Manager at Sue Ryder, said: “We’re excited to work with Recycle Your Electricals on this trial and can’t wait to see the results. This will mean that we can start turning pre-loved electricals into funds to help support people dealing with grief or facing a terminal illness. At Sue Ryder, we understand the importance of providing shoppers with a more caring way to shop and stop items going to waste. We believe that by working closely with Material Focus, we can make a real difference in the fight against electronic waste, whilst raising funds for the charity’s important work.”

Scott Butler, Executive Director of Recycle Your Electricals, said: “Each household in the UK has around 30 unwanted electricals, some of which could be donated to charities, providing a vital income source for charities such as Sue Ryder, as well as more affordable electricals for those in need. However, many charities don’t currently receive electricals, which is why we are delighted to be working with Sue Ryder to extend the number of charity stores that receive donations of electricals in London and hopefully, if this is a successful trial, roll it out across the UK.”

Chris Brown, Head of Sustainable Operations & Compliance, Currys: “As the UK’s largest tech retailer, we are delighted to be supporting this 10-store trial with Sue Ryder. We hope it will encourage more consumers to recycle their unwanted electricals responsibly, whilst being rewarded for doing the right thing. Last year, our Cash for Trash initiative helped us to collect over 1.6m items of unwanted tech. Since the vouchers were introduced in 2022, Currys customers have collectively redeemed £1.3m worth of savings when purchasing their next piece of kit”.

Any electrical items that aren’t in a working condition, or cannot be re-sold in Sue Ryder stores will be collected by Currys, who are on a mission to give technology a longer life. Where possible, Currys’ in-house experts will repair and refurbish these items. If they cannot be repaired, valuable parts will be harvested and put to use in the repairs of other items, with what’s left being broken down and recycled.

The project aims to increase the number of charity shops accepting electrical donations, providing Sue Ryder’s shoppers with more affordable electricals. 84% of UK households hold onto electrical items, with a lot of outdated items like toys, drills, DVD players sitting there ready to be donated.  

The project is led and funded by Material Focus, with Currys providing key operational recycling support. The majority of the electricals collected by Currys will be harvested for parts, and then recycled. Some working items will be sold-on as ‘refurbished’ to help fund this recycling support. Helping charities to responsibly process unsellable tech will overcome one of the key cost barriers previously preventing them from accepting electrical donations. 

Recycle Your Electricals would like to work with more charity retailers to extend this trial and provide more charity donation points for unwanted electricals across the UK. If you are a charity and are interested in becoming a donation point for electricals please contact projects@materialfocus.org.uk

ENDS

Notes to Editors

For media enquiries please contact kate@materialfocus.org.uk mobile 07714 708416

Sue Ryder stores accepting donations

Chingford10 Station RdChingfordLondonE4 7BE
Dagenham289 The HeathwayDagenhamRM9 5AQ
Edmonton GreenUnit 15 The ConcourseEdmonton Green Shopping CentreLondonN9 0TY
Finchley86 Ballards LaneFinchleyLondonN3 2DL
Golders Green99-101 Golders Green RoadGolders GreenLondonNW11 8EN
Hainault195 Manford WayHainaultIG7 4DJ
Islington72 Essex RoadIslingtonLondonN1 8LT
Walthamstow93-95 High StreetWalthamstowLondonE17 7DB
Pimlico35 Warwick WayPimlicoLondonSW1V 1QS
Becontree758 Green LaneBecontreeRM8 1YT

About Recycle Your Electricals

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.

About Sue Ryder

At Sue Ryder, we can’t make life’s most difficult moments easy, but we can carry some of the load. For more than 70 years, we have been a source of strength and support for anyone living with a life-limiting illness or grief. 

Dying and grief are universal experiences, but too many people face them alone. We are a safe and reassuring hand you can reach for. From providing care and support for someone at the end of their life to helping someone manage their grief, we know there is no one size fits all when it comes to how we cope and the help we need. We campaign for everyone who is approaching the end of their life or grieving to have access to the right support, at the right time. And we seek to break down the barriers to talking about dying and grief – so we can all be better prepared and better equipped to be there for each other.

We can make a positive difference during even the darkest of times. Whether in the last months, weeks or days of life, or living with grief, we help people live the best life they possibly can. We are there when it matters.  

Curry’s

Currys plc is a leading omnichannel retailer of technology products and services, operating online and through 720 stores in 6 countries. We Help Everyone Enjoy Amazing Technology, however they choose to shop with us. In the UK & Ireland we trade as Currys and in the UK we operate our own mobile virtual network, iD Mobile. In the Nordics we trade under the Elkjøp brand. We’re the market leader in all markets, able to serve all households and employing almost 25,000 capable and committed colleagues.

We help everyone enjoy amazing technology. We believe in the power of technology to improve lives, helping people stay connected, productive, fit, clean, healthy, and entertained. We’re here to help everyone enjoy those benefits and, with our scale and expertise, we’re uniquely placed to do so.

Our full range of services and support makes it easy for our customers to discover, choose, afford and enjoy the right technology to the full. The Group’s operations include Europe’s largest technology repair facility, a sourcing office in Hong Kong and an extensive distribution network, centred on Newark in the UK and Jönköping in Sweden, enabling fast and efficient delivery to stores and homes.

We’re a leader in giving technology a longer life through reuse, repair and recycling. We’re reducing our impact on the environment in our operations and our wider value chain and we will achieve net zero emissions by 2040. We offer customers products that help them save energy, reduce waste and save water, and we partner with charitable organisations to bring the benefits of amazing technology to those who might otherwise be excluded.

Research references:

  • 74% of UK adults would donate to charity shops if the option were available and 84% of UK households hold onto electrical items; Hoarding research, 16 May 2023 – 19 May 2023 Opinium research.  A sample of 2,000 UK adults was selected to ensure a representative distribution across key demographic factors such as age, gender, region, and socio-economic status.

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