Media Release, 29th June 2023
You can’t move for talk of air fryers, the latest kitchen electrical taking Britain by storm: 40% of British homes have one. Doesn’t it feel like we’ve been here before though – from lean grilling machines to chocolate fountains, soda makers to spiralizers, teasmades to trendy blenders?
Unlike the humble electric kettle, which is 130 years old this year and has become a household staple, many electrical innovations burn brightly and then either burn out or get bunged in a cupboard. Sound familiar? You’re not alone.
Whilst the air fryer looks like it could be ‘for keeps’ like the kettle, new omnibus research from Recycle Your Electricals has revealed the extent of Britain’s so-called kitchen FadTech obsession – electricals like bread makers, blenders, chocolate fountains and popcorn machines. 92% of UK households own FadTech – with an average of four items per household – BUT nearly half of households say their once-trendy items are now gathering dust. That means our collective cupboard holds a whopping 18.2 million kitchen electricals rarely or never used.
Recycle Your Electricals is on a mission to get Brits to fish out their FadTech and donate or recycle them to allow the valuable materials in them to be reused as something even more useful. For example, the estimated 2.4million blenders gathering dust across the UK could be recycled into 2.1million defibrillators!
The list of top 20 FadTech [see full table for Top 20] now gathering dust in UK homes is a roll-call of items that became trendy over the last two or more decades but then waned in popularity. The top five most likely items to be gathering dust are: ice cream maker, chocolate fountain, hostess trolley, popcorn machine and bread maker. The number of unused breadmakers in UK cupboards would stretch from London to Paris and halfway back again! In addition, there are an estimated 2.4 million unused blenders taking up space in cupboards.
Scott Butler, Executive Director, Recycle Your Electricals campaign, says, “We’ve all fallen for the latest FadTech – including me – and sometimes they become kitchen staples. But, often, after taking up counter space they’re consigned to a cupboard. They’re not cheap, so it can feel wasteful to clear them out but they can be recycled into something really useful or donated if they’re still in good condition. If you have FadTech to recycle, the easiest thing to do is visit our postcode locator to find your nearest drop-off point.”
Actor and presenter Joanna Page, has a stash of FadTech, thanks to her children. She is backing the campaign, saying, “I’ve got children, so we get these items thinking they’ll be fun and they are at first. But then you don’t use them more than once a year and they just end up taking up space in your cupboard! I’ve got two waffle makers, I don’t even know why I need two! They’re not cheap so it can be hard to part with them but it’s great to hear they can be recycled and free up some all-important cupboard space!”
TV Presenter and Host of the Gadget Show, Ortis Deley, who helped put together the picture of how and why Britain’s FadTech stash built up says, “As a gadget fan myself, I know it can be tempting to want to join the trend but as with any fashion, these things usually always move on or improve, so it’s worth thinking about whether you will really use something before you buy it and if you find you don’t use it any more, recycling it to give it a new lease of life.”
In addition to a FadTech stash, nearly one in five British households have multiple items of staple kitchen items – kettles, toasters and microwaves. Across UK homes, there are 6.5 million kettles, 3.4 million microwaves 3.6 million toasters that are either broken or spare. These could also be recycled into something really useful, by visiting www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk
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BRITAIN’S FAD TECH STASH
Table shows: The top 20 Fad Tech items most likely to be gathering dust in UK homes (likelihood of being never/rarely used x popularity of item) plus when the fad was at its peak, the estimated number now gathering dust and the average purchase price
| Top 20 FadTech most likely to be gathering dust in UK homes | Google Search Peak | Est. number now gathering dust in UK homes | Average purchase price |
| Ice cream maker | Jun-22 | 780,128 | £60.00 |
| Chocolate fountain | Dec-05 | 409,898 | £22.50 |
| Hostess trolley | Dec-18 | 330,563 | £175.00 |
| Popcorn machine | Dec-13 | 462,788 | £40.00 |
| Bread maker | Apr-20 | 1,414,808 | £100.00 |
| Spiralizer | Jan-16 | 449,565 | £20.00 |
| Waffle maker | Feb-21 | 819,795 | £40.00 |
| Juicer | Jul-13 | 952,020 | £90.00 |
| Slushy maker | Dec-13 | 224,783 | £50.00 |
| Teasmade | Dec-20 | 185,115 | £65.00 |
| Omelette maker | Jan-19 | 330,563 | £22.50 |
| Pie maker | Jan-22 | 185,115 | £30.00 |
| Electric plate warmer | Dec-06 | 264,450 | £35.00 |
| Yoghurt maker | May-06 | 198,338 | £40.00 |
| Electric knife sharpener | Apr-05 | 343,785 | £20.00 |
| Cake pop maker | Dec-12 | 158,670 | £20.00 |
| Soup maker | Jan-19 | 555,345 | £95.00 |
| Candy floss maker | Dec-15 | 132,225 | £35.00 |
| Electric coffee cup | May-05 | 264,450 | £20.00 |
| Toastie maker | Nov-22 | 1,785,038 | £32.50 |
For more information:
materialfocus@welcometoshook.com
Notes to Editors:
Consumer Research was conducted by Opinium, May 2023 amongst a nationally-representative sample of 2000 UK adults – full data table available
Google Trends Data was compiled by an independent consultant May 2023 – full data available
Recycling information provided by Material Focus – full data available
About Material Focus
Material Focus is a not-for-profit organisation whose goal is to stop the nation throwing away or hoarding all their old small electricals. Material Focus is delivering the UK-wide Recycle Your Electricals campaign. The campaign is revealing the value hidden in electricals and is making it easier for us all to recycle and reuse the small electricals we no longer need by providing more recycling points as well as providing practical information on how households can reuse and recycle.
The campaign is funded by producers of electrical appliances which pays for a range of activities, including communications, behaviour change activities, increased recycling projects and research. Ultimately the aim is to support actions that will help the UK increase the levels of reuse and recycling of waste electricals.
FADTECH FACTSHEET
Most UK households have at least four items of FadTech, 14% of households own eight items or more!
Britain’s Biggest Fads – the FadTech that fell into and out of fashion fastest
Why we fall for FadTech
Why the novelty wears off
Some FadTech is also likely to have NEVER been used at all
Estimated number of other FadTech items gathering dust in UK homes:
| Item | Number |
| Blender | 2,432,940 |
| Food processor / stand mixer | 1,864,373 |
| Toastie maker | 1,785,038 |
| Slow cooker | 1,692,480 |
| Breadmaker | 1,414,808 |
| Electric countertop grill | 1,044,578 |
| Juicer | 952,020 |
| Waffle maker | 819,795 |
| Ice cream maker | 780,128 |
| Coffee Pod machine | 700,793 |
| Rice cooker | 568,568 |
| Soup maker | 555,345 |
| Milk frother | 542,123 |
| Nutribullet | 542,123 |
| Popcorn machine | 462,788 |
| Air fryer | 449,565 |
| Spiralizer | 449,565 |
| Chocolate Fountain | 409,898 |
| Electric knife sharpener | 343,785 |
| Hostess trolley | 330,563 |
| Omelette maker | 330,563 |
| Panini press | 330,563 |
| Electric can opener | 264,450 |
| Electric coffee cup | 264,450 |
| Electric plate warmer | 264,450 |
| Sparkling water/ soda maker | 264,450 |
| Slushy maker | 224,783 |
| Onion chopper | 224,783 |
| Electric barbecue | 198,338 |
| Yoghurt maker | 198,338 |
| Teasmade | 185,115 |
| Pie maker | 185,115 |
| Cake pop maker | 158,670 |
| Electric salt and/or pepper grinder | 158,670 |
| Velvetiser | 158,670 |
| Candy floss maker | 132,225 |
| Electric pizza oven | 132,225 |
| Crepe maker | 105,780 |
Air Fryers – fad or ‘for keeps’?
40% of UK households now have an air fryer.
Their popularity shows no sign of waning yet – the trend appears to have started in 2011 (when there were 18,811 Google searches for ‘air fryer’ in a calendar year). 2022 saw nearly 10 million total searches in the UK (peaking in November 2022) but the first quarter of 2023 alone has seen 5,154,331. Searches are significantly higher in Wales and Northern Ireland than England.
HOWEVER, with some air fryers likely to now be over 10 years old, many could be nearing retirement, whether through breaking or being upgraded. So it’s important to remember to recycle your old one. Despite it seeming like air fryers may stand the test of time, there are also already 449,565 now gathering dust. If they’re not used, donate or recycle!
Examples of precious, recyclable materials in FadTech
FADTECH CITATIONS
One of our friendly team will be happy to help.
