Out with the old unwanted electronics, in with the new

Many children, adults too, eagerly await the holiday season for the arrival of the latest electronic swag, whether it be a computer, gaming console, smart phone or flat screen television.

What happens to those fancy new gadgets a few years down the road, when they break down, become obsolete or are no longer loved or used, is up to the households that buy them.

We have been asking Canadian households since 2015 what they do with their unwanted electronic waste. This is what they told us.

The home electronics business is big business, especially during the holiday season

Canadian electronic and appliance stores are among the bigger players in Canada’s retail landscape. In 2022, they sold $20.5 billion of merchandise, ranking ahead of sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book ($17.5 billion) and furniture ($16.0 billion) retailers in terms of merchandise sales.

The busiest time of the year for sales of home electronics and appliances is during the height of the holiday shopping season. In November and December 2023, retail sales of home electronics reached $4.4 billion and home appliances $2.3 billion.

Two-thirds of Canadian households that have unwanted computers take them to a depot or drop-off centre

Almost one in seven Canadian households (15%) reported having unwanted computers to dispose of in 2021, down from just over one-quarter (26%) in 2015.

Two-thirds (66%) of Canadian households that had unwanted computers took them to a depot or drop-off centre in 2021, 17% donated or gave them away, 5% sold or repaired them, while 4% put them in the garbage.

One in seven Canadian households have an unwanted television(s)

Approximately 14% of Canadian households had an unwanted television(s) to dispose of in 2021, down from 26% in 2015.

Over two-thirds of Canadian households that had an unwanted television took it to a depot or drop-off centre (69%) in 2021, while 16% donated or gave it away and 4% put it in the garbage.

Two in five households with unwanted cellular phones take them to a depot or drop-off centre

The share of households reporting an unwanted cellular phone to dispose of fell from 21% in 2015 to 14% in 2021.

Approximately 40% of households that had unwanted cellular phones to dispose of took them to a depot or drop-off centre, 12% donated or gave them away, while 3% put them in the garbage. Over one-third (38%) still had a phone to be disposed of at the time of the interview.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, relatively few Canadian households have unwanted electronic gaming equipment

The allure of electronic gaming equipment is illustrated by the meagre 3% of households reporting unwanted electronic equipment to dispose of in 2021, down from 5% in 2015.

Among households that had electronic gaming equipment to dispose of in 2021, just over half took them to a depot or drop-off centre (56%), 24% donated or gave them away and 11% sold or repaired them.

Microwaves most likely to end up in the garbage among electronic items examined

Approximately 6% of Canadian households had an unwanted microwave oven to dispose of in 2021.

Among households that had a microwave to dispose of, just over half took it to a depot or drop-off centre (57%), while 18% donated or gave it away and 10% put it in the garbage.