UK throws out PCs rather than repairing them

A survey has found that the majority of Britons throw out ‘broken’ electronics rather than taking the time to fix them, with 23 per cent saying that they would simply replace a computer that was slow or kept crashing.

According to Legal & General, who commissioned the survey, a massive 86 per cent of those questioned said that they immediately discarded broken household items while another 46 per cent said that they would replace a stereo, MP3 or DVD player simply because it had stopped working.

Amazingly, 12 per cent of the 4,000 people questioned said that they would replace an item if its fuse blew.

The survey found that the worst offenders where those aged 25 to 34 were the most likely to replace an item rather than try to fix it. 18 to 24 year olds came second, with 54 per cent saying they would replace a gadget without trying to repair it. That is in contrast with 35 per cent of over 55s who would throw out something without trying to fix it.

Speaking about the results, Legal & General’s Ruth Wilkins said: "With environmental issues increasingly on the public agenda, it is surprising that such a large number of us are still choosing to replace our household goods and possessions rather than trying to repair them."