Consumers still throwing away electricals

New research has shown that despite today being the first anniversary of the WEEE directive, many households are still disposing of PCs and gadgets with the rest of their rubbish.

The results of the survey, conducted by Comet, found that a staggering 68 per cent of UK households are still throwing away electricals, despite 67 per cent of UK citizens admitting that they know about WEEE.

The figure is in stark contrast to other rubbish such as paper, glass and plastics, which around 60 per cent of households do recycle. The research also revealed that around one in five people don’t recycle electricals at all.

Speaking about the results, WEEE policy advisor at the Environment Agency Bob Mead said: "Householders in Britain throw away more than a million tonnes of electrical waste every year. However, around a third of this is now collected, treated and recycled."