Brits cutting plastic but confused on how they can help, finds Gazelle study

A study conducted by phone-recycling company Gazelle has found that 83 per cent of Brits are making more effort than ever to cut the amount of plastic they use and throw away.

The survey found that women are leading the plastic-cutting charge with 90 per cent surveyed saying their desire to use less is higher than ever.

It also found that 57 per cent of those survey still throw away electronics such as mobile phones, which risks dangerous chemicals leaking into the ground and contaminating our soils and waterways.

At the supermarket, 67 per cent of shoppers now consider environmental factors when choosing what to buy, rather than selecting products solely based on price.

81 per cent said that they want to do more to help the environment, but feel confused about what can and cannot be reused and recycled.

Yanyan Ji, SVP for Marketing at Gazelle, said: “It’s been estimated that only 15 to 20 per cent of all e-waste is recycled, and the rest ends up in landfill.”

“Our latest research suggests that cause of that isn’t consumers being unwilling to change their behaviour, rather, they don’t always know what to do.”

“Here at Gazelle, we’re hoping to play our part by making it clearer and easier than ever for people to trade in old phones, get instant cash, and avoid contributing to e-waste in landfill. Our 26 kiosks across the UK will even take phones that are beyond repair, and responsibly recycle them, diverting them from landfill.”