Unused gadgets ‘could be worth billions’

British homes contain unused gadgets worth billions of pounds, a poll has claimed.

A survey carried out on behalf of the supermarket Asda found that there could be at least 35 million mobile phones lying unused in people’s homes – worth a total of £700 million in trade-in value.

Customers at Asda cashed in unwanted goods worth more than £500,000 in the lead-up to Christmas through the store’s scheme. The chain calculated that there could be as many as 11 million old unused digital cameras, nine million old PCs, 5.5 million old laptops, more than a million redundant sat navs and 12 million outdated games consoles in UK homes – a figure which could be increased further by the number of unwanted Christmas presents bought this year.