BRITS CAN CASH IN FOR CHRISTMAS BY MAKING UP TO £541 FROM THEIR OLD TECH WITH O2 RECYCLE

• New Virgin Media O2 analysis reveals greater than two in three (67%) Brits wish to recycle their undesirable tech to make more money.
• With fewer than 72 days till Christmas, cost-conscious Brits could make as much as £541 for his or her undesirable units by way of O2 Recycle, protecting key Christmas prices.
• Coinciding with International E-Waste Day (14 October), O2 Recycle has been relaunched to make it simpler for folks to commerce of their units for money or credit score in the direction of new tech.

Brits can earn as much as £541 for his or her undesirable tech to assist them afford the price of Christmas, in keeping with new analysis from Virgin Media O2.

By buying and selling of their previous tech with O2 Recycle, cash-strapped households might cowl key Christmas prices, with Brits estimating they’ll have to spend huge on presents (£311), meals (£169) and decorations (£82).

It comes as Virgin Media O2 has revamped the pioneering scheme, making it even simpler and easier for folks to recycle their unused devices, together with smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, earbuds, MacBooks and consoles.

Counting the price of Christmas

With simply 72 days till the large day, 60% of Brits are already involved about how they’ll afford all of the trimmings for the festive interval, with 4 in 10 (40%) already searching for methods to make more money.

Perhaps that’s why greater than two thirds (67%) would recycle their previous tech for money in the event that they knew it might cowl their Christmas spending.

With a number of the most-wanted devices launched in 2025, from the most recent consoles to headline-grabbing smartphones, 64% would commerce of their previous machine to purchase a brand new one in time for the festive season.

And with 55% of Brits saying their youngsters have put the most recent and biggest tech on the prime of their want checklist for Santa, two thirds (66%) need more money to make Christmas particular for his or her households.

The analysis, which coincides with International E-Waste Day (14 October), additionally discovered that 60% of individuals wish to give their unused devices a second life by recycling them, the place it may be repaired, refurbished and resold to another person.

Tech recycling made straightforward

As a part of the upgrades to O2 Recycle, which is offered to anybody no matter their cell operator, folks can now commerce in as much as 5 units without delay and ship in out of date objects that might be recycled or damaged down, with zero elements being despatched to landfill.

Devices could be despatched with free postage, the place they are going to be securely knowledge wiped, after which refurbished, repaired and resold, or recycled.

Additionally, folks shopping for units or cell plans from O2, whether or not in retailer, on-line or on the cellphone, can commerce of their undesirable smartphone, pill or smartwatch in opposition to the brand new machine or airtime plan, or obtain money for his or her machine.

O2 Recycle launched in 2009 and has recycled greater than 4 million units and paid out greater than £354 million to shoppers.  With O2 Recycle, on common, Brits could make:

• Smartphones – £148
• Wearables / smartwatches – £78
• Tablets – £112
• Earbuds – £46
• Consoles – £34
• MacBooks – £78

Dana Haidan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Virgin Media O2, mentioned:

“We know many Brits are anxious about how they’ll afford the price of Christmas, however they may very well be sitting on a treasure trove of unused tech that would make them additional money in time for the festive season.

“With our revamped O2 Recycle service, we’ve made it simpler than ever to commerce in undesirable devices to allow them to be given a second life, whereas giving Brits a cashback increase or credit score in the direction of a brand new machine.

“With more than four million devices recycled, Virgin Media O2 is proud to lead the way in tackling e-waste and driving device reuse across the UK.”