26 MILLION BRITS CREATE WASTE MOUNTAIN OF APPLIANCES
- 26.3 million households have not recycled unwanted white goods
- 65% of Brits don't bother to try and get white good repaired
- Two in five people take their unwanted white good to their local tip
Xx May 2008, Homeserve, the home emergency insurance provider, today called for Brits to think before they dispose of their unwanted white goods. The call for action is supported by the company's research(1) that reveals that over the past five years, 26.3 million households have dumped unwanted white goods, such as fridges, freezers and washing machines.
According to the research two in five people (38%) admit to just dumping their fridge or freezer at the local tip. Some 1.65 million claim to have a discarded white good sitting around their house or garden. Homeserve's own repair statistics suggest that a half of all white goods can be repaired cost effectively.
The new findings also found that many people make no attempt to recycle their unwanted white goods, with two-thirds of Brits (65%) saying they did not bother to see if a broken white good could be fixed. Just 29% bothered to seek the professional advice of a qualified tradesman before adding their appliance to the scrapheap. Homeserve believes that this high figure is undoubtedly related to the fact that 24.4 million people surveyed did not have any insurance cover in place for repair of the white good.
Another key reason behind the growing "white goods waste mountain" is the fact that a third (30%) of Brits admit to disposing of a white good that was still in working order. Indeed 5.41 million people said they had got rid of a white good because they either fancied an upgrade to a better model (15%) or because they were having their kitchen refurbished (3%).
Furthermore only one in four people (27%) said they have recycled or donated their unwanted white good to another person over the past five years. Additionally 14% of people claim that their discarded white good was recycled via a manufacturer's recycling facility and only 13% donated it to a charity or friend.
Reasons cited for disposing of a white good
| Reasons | Number of people |
|---|---|
| My old white good had stopped working | 21.1 million |
| I wanted a better model | 2.99 million |
| Moved home and no longer needed | 1.50 million |
| Saw a better deal and decided to upgrade | 1.37 million |
| Cosmetic reasons eg replacement of kitchen | 1.04 million |
| Was offered a new / second-hand white good by friend or family | 705,000 |
| Was left a white good by previous owner / family member but didn't need | 673,000 |
Jon Florsheim, Chief Executive of Homeserve Membership, said: "We believe our research shows that there is still a lot of work to be done around changing the mindset of people towards the recycling of their white goods - and indeed persuading people to at least attempt to repair these goods before adding to the white good waste mountain."
"The situation is compounded by the fact that many people are needlessly discarding white goods that are in working order or could be fixed by a qualified tradesman. Taking out insurance cover on these goods not only gives you peace of mind should a problem arise, it also potentially extends the life span of your appliance and helps in part to reduce the huge amount of white good waste."
Ten months on from the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive coming into effect, Homeserve believes that its research shows that there is still a lot of work to be done in changing the mindset towards recycling. Electrical and electronic waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK, with around 1.8 million tonnes generated every year(2). The main component of which is white goods, which make up 43% of the total.
Editors Notes
(1) Research conducted online by TNS amongst 1,011 adults between 1st - 6th May 2008. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 16 - 64). The omnibus research conducted by TNS uses a large sample size that reflects the demographic profile of Great Britain. Given this it is possible to extrapolate figures for Great Britain from the research results within appropriate confidence intervals.
(2) See www.netregs.gov.uk and www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/ElectricalElectronic.htm
For more information please contact:
Holly Clark/ Sarah Rowan
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
020 7282 2917 or 020 7282 1049
About Homeserve
Everyforty seconds aHomeserve engineer comes to therescueof a British household.
With over 3,000 directly and indirectlyemployed engineers Homeserve offers the UK's only national emergency home repair servicebackedbya 24 hourclaims handling and repair network.
Homeserve alsooffers insurancecover for plumbing, drains, electrical wiring and gas central heating. It has over5.8 million policy membersin theUK and a further 1.2 million in theUSA and France.