North East is 'throw away' society

A survey by online spare parts retailer, eSpares, claims people in the region are wasting money and potentially damaging the environment by failing to fix broken household appliances.

Over half (52%) say they prefer to dispose of items – the highest in the UK – and the majority saying it is ‘easier to just buy new’ or it is ‘not cost effective’ to get household items fixed.

Statistics from Europe indicate that, if the UK fixed just 10% more of repairable appliances, the nation could save an estimated 100,000 tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment from being thrown away.

Ad Casey, head of brand at eSpares, said: “We feel a change is needed in our behaviour towards fixing appliances.”