Results released on 4 October from a survey carried out by the UK’s largest WEEE producer compliance scheme, REPIC, has revealed that half of UK households (49 percent) own at least five TVs. REPIC is responsible for funding the recycling of many of the 6 million or so end-of-life TVs discarded in the UK each year.
While advances in technology mean that people have more viewing options – from laptops, smartphones and tablets – the research found that Brits still like to watch their favourite programmes on the box, or even several.
Flat screen and HD TVs are the most popular with 64 percent of the people polled owning at least one. LCD and LED technology accounted for almost a fifth (19 percent) of all TVs and 1 in 10 (12 percent) of viewers had splashed out on 3D, Plasma or Blu ray TVs.
Chunky old style TVs (CRT) and black and white TVs are still being watched – 6 percent of the over 60’s use them for their main household screen. Countrywide, Liverpudlians are the most attached to retro viewing and 1 in 10 people (9.8 percent) still watch TV this way.
Screen sizes continue to creep up in the majority of homes – 41 percent of people surveyed said their TVs had 40 to 49 inch screens. Going for a home cinema experience, 17 percent polled said they went for a minimum screen size of 50 inches.
Bigger is also better in Scotland where over a fifth of people surveyed had gone for screens above 50 inches – 22 percent in Glasgow and 28 percent in Edinburgh.
While the latest tech is important to people, the research also found that most people take a cautious approach to replacing TVs – just under half (49 percent) only swap TVs when they break. Londoners are the most likely to go for the latest model, with just under a third (31 percent) upgrading when something new comes along.
Not all the TVs people keep in the home are in good working condition. As a nation of hoarders, most homeowners (67% percent) said they have at least one broken TV collecting dust.
When it comes to recycling TVs, a third of people polled said they wished they knew more – 15 percent even admitted they had no idea which electricals, including TVs, could be recycled.
Dr Philip Morton, CEO of REPIC, said: “Surveys such as these provide us with useful insight. It isn’t surprising that we’re increasingly collecting TVs but for REPIC the important message to stress is that old and broken TVs need to be recycled through the correct channels. Re-use is something that should be considered too – if they aren’t being used – and if they are in good working condition – they could be passed on to someone else or donated to a re-use centre.”
For more information, visit www.repic.co.uk.
