Hair straightener trade-in scheme incentivises consumers to recycle old gadgets

An Otley-based hair products business is helping consumers to earn money whilst reducing electronic waste, thanks to a hair straightener recycling scheme.

Luxury Hair Products is offering environmentally conscious consumers the chance to earn cash by simply trading in their old GHD or Cloud 9 straighteners, working or not. Luxury Hair Products technicians will refurbish and recycle the old straighteners, extending the shelf life of the gadget. If the straighteners are beyond repair, they can be used for parts or recycled responsibly.

Hair straighteners can't be recycled with regular household waste and can take hundreds of years to decompose in landfill. The thick plastic in some hair straighteners can make them take even longer to break down.

Households in the UK throw away nearly half a billion small 'FastTech' electrical items annually, which includes various personal grooming devices such as hair straighteners. In addition, there are approximately 880 million household electrical items lying around in UK homes, a 67% increase from three years ago.

A significant number of hair styling tools, including straighteners, are likely discarded annually in the UK. Hair straighteners typically need to be replaced every 2–3 years and can and should be recycled properly, as they fall under the category of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).

Nicola Mooney, co-owner of Luxury Hair Products said: “Two million tonnes of electronic waste is discarded each year in the UK alone and 80% of this isn’t recycled, ending up in landfill. In addition to TVs, mobiles and laptops, the tools and gadgets of people’s beauty routines also have a key part to play.

“Every time you treat yourself to a new pair of hair straighteners, what happens to the old ones? Many people just store them away in the bottom of a drawer or cupboard to be forgotten about whilst others just throw them away, unaware that they can’t be recycled with typical domestic recycling. We want to help reduce the amount of straighteners that are unnecessarily ending up in landfill, often because they have simply been replaced by a newer, more expensive model.

“At Luxury Hair, we believe in giving your old hair tools a second chance. We will gladly buy and recycle your GHD or Cloud Nine straighteners, regardless of their condition – fully functional or no longer working. Once we receive the straighteners, we’ll promptly send a payment of £10.95 securely by Paypal. Old straighteners will be either reused, repurposed, or responsibly recycled, helping to reduce electronic waste.”

Luxury Hair Products was founded in 2003 by entrepreneur Pat Mooney. Nicola Mooney now co-runs the business alongside husband, Pat. An independent family-run supplier to the professional salon industry, the business is growing month by month and supplies many of Yorkshire’s major and independent salons.

Added Pat “Many people will have received new straighteners as Christmas gifts which means their old ones are in storage or have been disposed of, even though they might still have plenty of life in them. Why not cash in or old or unused straighteners and pocket some cash at the same time? With the ongoing cost of living crisis still tightening its grip on household budgets, most people would welcome the chance to earn some extra money as well as make some positive environmental changes.”

To take part in the scheme visit: https://www.luxuryhairproducts.co.uk/recycle-your-straighteners/