Recycling electricals and batteries

Recycling is the safest and most responsible way to dispose of batteries and electrical items that are faulty, old, or beyond repair.

Millions of new electrical items are purchased in the UK each year but currently less than one-third of these are recycled when they come to the end of their lifecycle.

The reality is almost all electrical items with a plug or a battery can be recycled. But don’t put any batteries, appliances, or appliances with batteries (even AA or AAA ones) in the general waste or normal recycling.

Can it be recycled?

If the answer to any of these questions is “yes” then your electrical item can be recycled:

Does it have a plug?
Does it use a charger?
Does it use batteries?
Does it carry the WEEE logo (a crossed-out wheelie bin)?

Which electrical items can be recycled?

Large household appliances such as fridges, freezers, microwaves, dishwashers, and washing machines.
Smaller household appliances such as irons, toasters, kettles and vacuum cleaners.
IT equipment such as laptops, tablets, printers, and mobile phones.
Entertainment devices such as TVs, music players, gaming consoles and controllers.
Tools such as drills, lawnmowers, and sewing machines.
Personal gadgets such as electric toothbrushes, hairdryers, hair straighteners, and curling tongs.

How to recycle electricals safely

Most large stores that sell batteries (such as supermarkets and hardware stores) have in-store collection bins for regular household batteries (AA, AAA, C, D).
If you have rechargeable batteries, or cordless appliances with rechargeable batteries, take them to a local recycling centre or check your local council’s website.
Many councils run schemes to collect batteries and appliances fitted with batteries separately from the normal recycling.
Some councils even offer special collection bags for batteries to leave out with your regular bins, or you can book small item collections.

How do I recycle an electrical product?

Take to your local recycling centre. Find your nearest centre on Recycle Now or recycleyourelectricals.org.uk.
Under the terms of the WEEE directive, all retailers must provide a way for customers to dispose of old household electrical and electronic equipment when they sell them a new version of the same item. Either through a collection service or a store take-back scheme. Check with your retailer for details (some may apply charges for the collection service).
Some councils offer a household recycling collection service for small electrical items. Contact your local authority for more details.

What is the WEEE Directive?

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive was introduced in 2007 to govern how manufacturers and retailers in European countries should behave with regards to recycling.

The directive is regularly updated to ensure less harmful electrical waste is sent to landfill.

Although the regulations don’t directly target consumers, they do ultimately make it simpler for you to recycle your old electrical goods.

Stay safe with electrical products

Check plugs and sockets

Don't ignore burn marks, ‘arcing’ (buzzing or crackling) sounds, fuses blowing, circuit-breakers tripping, or if it feels hot to touch.

Unplug and contact the retailer, manufacturer, or a qualified repair technician.

Protect with an RCD

An RCD (residual current device) in your consumer unit (fusebox) protects you from electric shocks if a product is faulty.

If you don’t have RCD protection, use an RCD plug on the socket where the product is plugged in.

Fit smoke and heat alarms

Ensure there is at least one smoke or heat alarm per floor in your property. Fit enough alarms to cover all areas where a fire could start.

Test alarms at least once a month. Replace them every ten years or when the replace by date is reached.

Selected FAQs

Answers to commonly-asked questions we receive about electrical safety.

View all our FAQs

Who do I report a unsafe product to?

If you have purchased an electrical product that you believe to be unsafe, you should contact the manufacturer to let them know of your concerns.

If they do not deal with this to your satisfaction, you should report the product to your local Trading Standards Office and they will be able to investigate further.

We recommend that you register all of your electrical appliances so that, in the event of a problem, the manufacturer can contact you to let you know about it. You can find out more here.

Should I buy products from abroad?

We recommend you don't bring home electrical products purchased from outside the UK.

However, an EU conversion plug could make some appliances safe for use in the UK:

Check if the type of conversion plug is suitable for use with the EU plug.
Follow manufacturer's instructions when fitting a conversion plug.
Remember, travel adaptors are not a suitable or safe alternative.
If the plug is not suitable for conversion, replace the appliance with a UK product.

Is it safe to keep a small freezer on top of the washing machine? It shudders a little when in use.

We advise against storing a freezer on top of the washing machine.

Aside from the risk of the freezer falling off when the washing machine is on its spin cycle, heat from the washer could also impact on the efficiency and ventilation of the freezer.

Is there a regulation for the minimum support period?

No, there is no stipulation in PSTI for the duration of the support period or the minimum number of security updates that must be provided

Additional info

Electrical and electronic equipment is made up of a wide variety of materials, many of which can be reused. For example, there’s enough steel in an iron to produce 13 steel cans.

By recycling old and unwanted electrical items, you’re helping the environment by preventing potentially hazardous waste from entering landfill and causing soil and water contamination.

Has your electrical product been recalled?

Electrical products are recalled more regularly than you might think, but the response rate to a recall is often worryingly low. This means there are potentially millions of recalled electrical items still in UK homes.

Check your appliances

Recycling electricals and batteries