What number of devices do you really want? I counted mine for Earth Day and located I’m a part of a £1 trillion downside

When you purchase by hyperlinks on our articles, Future and its syndication companions could earn a fee.

Sustainability Week 2026

This article is a part of a sequence of sustainability-themed articles we’re operating to look at Earth Day 2026 and promote extra sustainable practices. Check out all of our Sustainability Week 2026 content material.

I’ve by no means felt the necessity to personal the newest tech. In truth, I used to be nonetheless utilizing an iPhone 7 once I joined TechRadar in 2023, as a result of I by no means actually purchased into the improve cycle (truthfully, you in all probability don’t want a brand new telephone each one to 2 years).

That modified rapidly (perks of the job), however my common method hasn’t. I nonetheless attempt to preserve my private tech to a minimal — effectively, as a lot as that’s potential if you write about devices for a dwelling. Admittedly, my concept of ‘minimal’ in all probability isn’t the identical as most individuals’s, although, so a little bit of context helps.

Looking on the UN Trade and Development information (referenced by Staista), the common particular person owned 9.4 units in Western Europe and 13 within the US in 2023. Those figures have seemingly climbed since then, however even a conservative estimate would put them nearer to 11 and 16 as we speak, respectively.

That makes me really feel a complete lot higher about myself as a result of my present tally of tech (not together with equipment like a MagSafe charger and moveable mouse) is 17. That contains bigger tech home equipment like my robovac and low machine, however not units I exploit that aren’t technically mine, like my work MacBook Pro 16-inch and companion’s Xbox Series X.

Tallying my unused tech that I preserve considering I’ll use once more

On high of that, I’ve additionally acquired a rising pile of devices tucked away in drawers and cabinets. From a thrifted Cambridge Audio amp and audio system to my trusty Canon DSLR (which I refuse to half with), this assortment has quietly constructed up over the 12 years I’ve lived in London.

Not counting my previous Nintendo 64 and iPod Classic saved again house, I discovered 11 unused devices, which roughly equate to a brand new system virtually yearly. That’s really proper in keeping with a survey by musicMagpie, which discovered UK households have as much as 11 unused units mendacity round.

And sure, I did use all of them in some unspecified time in the future. There was the temporary part once I thought I’d develop into a journey vlogger and acquired a DJI Osmo Plus, and the part once I bought the Instax Mini Link 2 to economize on photograph prints. Like most tech, they made sense on the time, however have since been deserted.

For no matter cause, whether or not it’s a brand new legislation that restricts drones weighing over 250g or just a much-needed improve, I’ve abandoned these once-loved devices — and I do know I’m not alone. MPB, a web based market for used digital camera gear, found that there’s more than £1 trillion worth of unused tech in UK, EU, and US houses.

All the methods I thought-about responsibly eliminating my unused tech

Armed with my field of devices to go, I set about trying into the very best methods to lastly eliminate my overload of drugs that I’d been hanging onto as a result of I’d sooner or later use it once more. Of course, it’s not so simple as throwing it within the bin, particularly as a result of e-waste incorporates dangerous supplies. Despite this, in response to the Geneva Environment Network, solely round 20% is correctly recycled globally.

As a primary port of name, I began by trying into resale and trade-in choices — hey, with commerce tariffs and a RAM chip crunch driving up the price of tech, it is smart to leap on the secondhand market, proper? But with most of my units over 5 years previous, their worth had dropped considerably. Quotes from resale platforms and trade-in packages like Swappa, Amazon Trade-In, and BackMarket had been minimal and infrequently inadequate to justify the hassle.

Outside of repurposing the previous tech, that left two reasonable choices: go them on to somebody who’ll really use them or recycle them correctly. Thankfully, recycling has develop into simpler within the UK due to new guidelines that require giant retailers to supply free drop-off factors for small electronics and to gather bigger home equipment, making it much more handy than visiting your native waste assortment heart.

Off the again of those new circular-economy recycling guidelines, producers have additionally launched extra recycling and trade-in packages up to now 12 months. The most up-to-date was Insta360 within the US, which can be accepting gear from different manufacturers like DJI, however there are additionally different huge names like Samsung. It’s worthwhile checking with a model instantly, as many have partnered with third-party companies like Recommerce to launch or scale their trade-in packages.

If there’s one factor I discovered from this entire expertise, it’s that possibly the neatest improve you’ll make this 12 months isn’t a brand new gadget. Instead, it’s lastly letting go of those we don’t use, and whereas Earth Day would possibly really feel like the correct second to do it, it is a behavior price preserving all 12 months spherical.