Disposable Electronics Spark Alarms Over Waste
A surge in demand for cheap, short-lived electronics—dubbed “fast tech”—is fueling a new sustainability crisis, according to Material Focus, a not-for-profit focused on reducing electronic waste. The group warns that rising sales of low-cost gadgets, often used briefly and discarded, are locking up valuable materials and accelerating environmental damage.
From mini karaoke machines to LED balloons and battery-powered mini-fans, consumer spending on fast tech has jumped from £2.9 billion in 2023 to £11.6 billion in just a year, based on surveys conducted for Material Focus.
A single year’s worth of mini-fan purchases exceeded seven million units, driven by extreme heatwaves. Other novelty items—including light-up toilet seats—saw nearly £8 million in combined consumer spend.
A New Wave of Fast Consumption
The group likens the trend to fast fashion’s rapid rise, warning it could have a “similar negative impact.” Writing in its findings, consumer psychologist Professor Cathrine Jansson-Boyd called the rise of fast tech a troubling signal for environmental efforts.
While some items cost as little as £1, their environmental footprint far exceeds their sticker price. Many contain copper, lithium, and rare earth metals that are difficult to extract and vital for the global shift toward low-carbon technologies.
Material Focus estimates that disused gadgets hidden in households’ “drawers of doom” contain over 38,000 tonnes of copper. When these items end up in landfills, that resource is lost—and the planet bears the cost.
"We had fast food, then fast fashion—now fast tech. Think before you buy your latest fast tech item, and if you really need it." — Scott Butler, Executive Director, Material Focus
Butler urges consumers to resist impulse tech purchases and recycle unwanted electronics properly. Yet, survey data shows that more than half of fast tech is either discarded or left unused.
Fixing Fast Tech: A Circular Alternative
Joe Iles, Circular Design Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, believes the trend can be reversed. He argues that throwaway tech isn’t inevitable—it’s a relatively recent shift, amplified in the last half-century.
“There’s already a thriving market for reused and refurbished electronics,” he says, pointing to growing demand for durable design and policies like the Right to Repair and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as key tools for systemic change.
"Rapid-use, rapid-disposal is a recent phenomenon. We can design systems to reverse it—through repair, resale, and better product lifecycles." — Joe Iles, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
EPR frameworks place the burden of sustainability on manufacturers, encouraging them to design products that last longer, are easier to fix, and can be efficiently collected at end-of-life.
Built Not to Last
A major challenge, critics say, lies in how fast tech is built. Greenpeace UK’s Laura Burley describes the combination of plastics and electronic components in cheap gadgets as “a toxic cocktail that is very hard to recycle.”
Manufacturing choices that ignore repairability worsen the issue. When these poorly made gadgets are tossed, they frequently end up in poorer nations, where environmental safeguards are weaker.
"We need a circular economy where producers are held responsible from start to finish—and consumers are given real, sustainable choices." — Laura Burley, Greenpeace UK
Her advice? Resist the urge to buy fast tech. “Manual fans or an open window work just as well,” she adds.
Shifting the Culture of Consumption
Ultimately, solving the fast tech crisis requires action across the value chain—from design and production to recycling and consumer habits. As with fast fashion, real change depends on aligning economic incentives with environmental responsibility.
Regulators, manufacturers, and buyers each have a role to play in ending the cycle of rapid tech consumption and disposal. For now, though, the onus remains largely on the public to choose wisely—and waste less.
Source: BBC News, June 25, 2025.
