In London, anything with a plug, battery or cable has a free route out: the shop that sells you a replacement must take the old one back within 28 days whatever the brand or where you bought it, large stores such as Currys, B&Q, Waitrose and John Lewis take small electricals whether you buy anything or not, and every borough either runs a reuse and recycling centre or sends you to a neighbour's. The differences are in the details, and they matter: Tower Hamlets collects a television from your door free twice a year, Newham charges £30, Croydon £40.40, and Enfield's own service costs £54 for one item while its free AnyJunk collection costs nothing. Londoners spend £3.3 billion a year on electricals and, by ReLondon's count, keep buying twice what they get rid of. Every address, hour and rule below was checked against the source on 26 August 2026.
What the law gives you: retailer take-back
Under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 a retailer that sells you a new electrical item must give you a free way to dispose of the old one of the same type, in store or through a free alternative service, whether you bought in store, online, by mail order or by phone, and regardless of the brand. You have 28 days after the purchase to bring the old item in, and it does not need to have come from the same shop; buy a DVD player and the retailer should take your old VHS player. Any shop with more than 400 square metres of electrical sales floor must also take very small electricals (under 25 cm) from anyone, no purchase needed, and vape sellers must take vapes back in store. Recycle Your Electricals, run by the not-for-profit Material Focus, says the scheme has been live since 1 January 2021 across more than 22,000 stores. Retailers can be prosecuted for not complying. Retailer fees and terms could not be read from the retailers' own sites on the day we checked, so ask in store for large-appliance collection charges.
Defra consulted on reforming the system between December 2023 and March 2024 and responded in December 2024: vapes get their own category, and online marketplaces must join a compliance scheme for overseas sellers from 2026, but the proposals for a general "take one back with no purchase" duty and for kerbside small-electricals collections were left for a later response. The Distributor Take-back Scheme, which lets small or online-only sellers pay councils to collect on their behalf, is funded until 31 December 2026.
Borough reuse and recycling centres
| Borough | Centre | Hours | Rules |
|---|
| Croydon | Factory Lane, West Croydon CR0 3RL (enter from Roman Way); Fishers Farm, North Downs Road, New Addington CR0 0LB; Purley Oaks, Brighton Road, South Croydon CR8 2BG | Factory Lane Monday to Saturday 7.30 am to 4.30 pm, Sunday 8.30 am to 4 pm; Fishers Farm Monday to Friday 8 am to 4 pm, Saturday 9 am to 2 pm, Sunday 9 am to 1 pm; Purley Oaks daily 8 am to 3.30 pm | Croydon residents; vehicles need a permit or ID; small electrical goods accepted; no phones on site |
| Tower Hamlets | Yabsley Street, E14 9RG | Monday to Friday 8 am to 8 pm, weekends 9 am to 6 pm, bank holidays 9 am to 4.30 pm | Residents only; driving licence, passport, council tax bill, utility bill or parking permit as proof; electrical appliances and small electricals accepted; small items also go to Idea Stores |
| Newham | Jenkins Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre, Barking IG11 0AD (East London Waste Authority) | Daily 7.30 am to 5.45 pm; do not join the queue after 5 pm | Free with your latest council tax statement or driving licence, no other ID accepted; large and small electrical appliances, batteries and bulbs accepted; vans and trailers must book |
| Enfield | Barrowell Green Recycling Centre, N21 3AU (run by the North London Waste Authority since 3 July 2026) | Tuesday to Sunday 8 am to 4 pm, closed Monday | Book before you go if arriving by vehicle; pedestrians need no booking; vans need a free permit; TVs, hairdryers, radios, irons, fridges, batteries, bulbs and vapes accepted |
| Barnet | Summers Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre, Porters Lane, North Finchley N12 0RF (North London Waste Authority), 020 7464 2225 | Daily 9 am to 4 pm, gates close 3.45 pm; closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day | No booking for cars, bikes or pedestrians; vans book 24 hours ahead with proof of address; TVs and monitors, small and large appliances, phones and batteries accepted; quietest 10.30 am to 1.30 pm on weekdays |
| Ealing | Greenford Road Reuse and Recycling Centre, Greenford UB6 9AP | Monday, Tuesday, Friday to Sunday; 8 am to 5 pm April to September, 8 am to 4 pm October to March; closed Wednesday and Thursday | Booking required or you will be turned away, two slots per household per week, 30 minutes on site; proof of address plus photo driving licence; fridges and freezers free; lithium batteries only if removed from the item |
| Westminster | None in the borough; residents use Smugglers Way in Wandsworth (Western Riverside Waste Authority), booking a slot for a car and bringing ID with name and address | See wrwa.gov.uk | About 36 on-street small-electricals banks take anything under 60 cm long with a plug or battery (phones, chargers, kettles, keyboards, cables) but not TVs, monitors, computers, bulbs or batteries |
Getting a TV collected from home
| Borough | Council bulky collection for a television |
|---|
| Tower Hamlets | Free: two collections a year from your own property, up to five items each, TVs and computers listed |
| Newham | £30 for up to six items, TVs listed; collected within five working days; landlords pay £30 plus £12 per item |
| Croydon | £40.40 for one to three items, £65.30 for four to six; televisions, home audio, computers and laptops listed |
| Enfield | Free electrical collection through AnyJunk on behalf of the North London Waste Authority (TVs, washing machines, fridges); the council's own paid service is £54 for one item, £60 for two, £66 for three, usually on Wednesdays, and the free council bulky collection excludes electricals |
| Barnet | £46.71 for one to three items; the listed items are cookers, fridges and washing machines, so call 020 8359 4600 to confirm a TV |
| Ealing | £30 for up to six items, two-person-carry size; TVs not named on the page, so confirm when booking |
| Westminster | Large electricals collected "for a fee" through the bulky service or taken to Smugglers Way; the amount is not published |
What Londoners throw away
ReLondon, the capital's waste and resources body, estimates Londoners spend £3.3 billion a year on about 273,000 tonnes of electrical and electronic items, roughly 700 kg per home, and that repairing instead of replacing could save a household about £277 a year. London Recycles reports that Londoners buy twice the electricals they get rid of, and that 92 per cent of a device's emissions come from making and moving it rather than using it, which is why reuse beats recycling. Its rule of thumb: if it has a plug, uses batteries, needs charging or carries the crossed-out wheelie bin symbol, it never goes in the rubbish bin.
Before you hand over a phone, laptop or smart TV
The Information Commissioner's Office says three in ten UK adults do not know how to wipe an old device and that a device which will not switch on may still hold readable data; a reformat is not enough, and a factory reset only works if the maker built in secure wiping. Sign out of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung accounts, back up, remove SIM and memory cards, then reset; overwrite or remove an old spinning hard drive. Smart TVs store viewing and shopping history, so log out of apps and reset them too. Our factory reset guide covers every major device.
Is it worth money instead?
A working phone, tablet or laptop under about six years old usually has a buyer. Check this month's buyback prices in the Trade-In Price Index or run your model through the Device Value Checker before recycling it.
Nearby cities
Sources
- GOV.UK, Electrical waste: retailer and distributor responsibilities (take back in store, Distributor Take Back Scheme, very small WEEE, vapes) and Defra's consultation response of 10 December 2024 on reforming the producer responsibility system, checked 26 August 2026
- Recycle Your Electricals (Material Focus), Retailer take-back, Recycle TVs, Bulky waste collection and How do I delete my data pages, checked 26 August 2026
- London Borough of Croydon, reuse and recycling centres, site rules and bulky waste collection pages, checked 26 August 2026
- London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Reuse and Recycling Centre and bulky waste pages, checked 26 August 2026
- London Borough of Newham, Jenkins Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre and bulky household waste collection pages, checked 26 August 2026
- London Borough of Enfield, Barrowell Green Recycling Centre and bulky rubbish pages (Internet Archive captures of 2026), and North London Waste Authority site pages and 23 June 2026 transfer notice, checked 26 August 2026
- London Borough of Barnet, Summers Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre and bulky household waste collection pages, and NLWA Summers Lane page, checked 26 August 2026
- London Borough of Ealing, Greenford Road Reuse and Recycling Centre and bulky items collection pages, checked 26 August 2026
- Westminster City Council, reusing and other recycling services pages (Internet Archive captures of 2025 and 2026) and Western Riverside Waste Authority valid ID page, checked 26 August 2026
- ReLondon, Electricals and electronics page; London Recycles, Electrical items A to Z and "drawers of doom" article, checked 26 August 2026
- Information Commissioner's Office, Deleting your data from computers, laptops and other devices, and news release of 19 December 2024, checked 26 August 2026
- Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates for London via Nomis, checked 26 August 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I recycle electricals for free in London?
At your borough's reuse and recycling centre (Croydon's three sites, Tower Hamlets at Yabsley Street, Newham's Jenkins Lane, Enfield's Barrowell Green, Barnet's Summers Lane, Ealing's Greenford Road), at any large shop that sells electricals when you buy a replacement, or at Currys, B&Q, Waitrose and John Lewis, which take small electricals with no purchase. Westminster has no centre; residents use Smugglers Way in Wandsworth or the on-street small-electricals banks.
Does the shop have to take my old TV when I buy a new one?
Yes. Under the WEEE Regulations 2013 a retailer must offer free take-back of an item of the same type within 28 days of the sale, whether you bought in store or online and whatever the brand. Recycle Your Electricals says this even applies to a TV with no resale value.
How much does it cost to have a TV collected in London?
It depends on the borough: free in Tower Hamlets (two collections a year, up to five items), free in Enfield through AnyJunk for the North London Waste Authority, £30 for up to six items in Newham and Ealing, £40.40 for one to three items in Croydon, £46.71 in Barnet, and an unpublished fee in Westminster. Or take it to a recycling centre free.
Do I need to book to use a London recycling centre?
It varies. Ealing's Greenford Road and Enfield's Barrowell Green require a booking for vehicles, and Smugglers Way (used by Westminster residents) requires a car slot. Barnet's Summers Lane, Newham's Jenkins Lane, Tower Hamlets and Croydon take cars without booking but check residency with ID or a permit, and vans usually need a booking or permit everywhere.
Can I put small electricals in my recycling bin in London?
No. London Recycles says anything with a plug, battery, charger or the crossed-out wheelie bin symbol never goes in the rubbish or recycling bin. Use a retailer, a recycling centre, Tower Hamlets' Idea Stores or Westminster's on-street small-electricals banks, and always remove batteries and vapes first because they cause fires in bin lorries.
