And 22 per cent owned up to replacing their large household appliances, such as a washing machine or dryer, at the first sign of trouble rather than trying to fix them. While 56 per cent of those admitted the last item they replaced may have been repairable, despite 54 per cent of all participants agreeing they have needed to scrimp and save over the past three years due to the cost-of-living crisis

The research was commissioned by the UK’s trade association for home appliances, AMDEA.

Commenting on the findings, consumer journalist Alice Beer said: “It’s clear from the research that when something goes wrong, replacing an appliance is often the default position. But what many people may not realise is that repairs by a good engineer are often much simpler and more affordable than they expect, so it can pay to pause before you replace. Simple habits can also make a real difference too. Spending a few minutes cleaning filters and carrying out routine maintenance checks, for example, can help keep appliances working well, reduce the risk of faults and potentially add years to their lifespan. We know household budgets are under pressure so every saving counts. That’s why, when something goes wrong, my advice is simple – think repair first. The reality is that a small, quick fix could save you money and help your appliance go further.”

The research also found people have spent an average of £399 replacing items which have had issues over the past three years.

Meanwhile, when a household appliance develops a problem, only 11 per cent contact a repair engineer as a first point of call.

And 66 per cent have considered replacing a large household appliance at the first sign of trouble rather than investigating whether it could be repaired.

The most replaced items without checking for repairs were washing machines, microwaves and fridge freezers.

The biggest concerns around arranging a repair were the potential costs (49 per cent), the appliance being too old (32 per cent) and worries the repair won’t last (29 per cent).

While 33 per cent would be frustrated if they discovered they spent money on an unnecessary replacement, with 21 per cent determined to make sure they don’t do that again.

And 24 per cent are not confident they know whether their large household appliances are covered by warranty or not, according to figures from OnePoll.com.

Experiences from those who have had repairs were generally positive – 47 per cent said the engineer was reliable, 40 per cent had years of extra use thanks to it, and 33 per cent said it was easy to arrange.

Stefan Hay, CEO for AMDEA added: “Too many consumers are writing off appliances before understanding what the problem is or whether a repair is possible. Our findings show that concerns around cost and convenience are often driving replacement decisions, but repairs are frequently more straightforward and affordable than people expect. We’d encourage anyone experiencing an issue with a household appliance to check their warranty status and explore repair options before replacing it. A simple repair can often add years to an appliance’s lifespan, saving money and reducing unnecessary waste at the same time.”

For help and advice on expert repairs visit:  amdea.org.uk/repairs

Appliance producers meet their obligations under the WEEE Regulations through membership of Producer Compliance Schemes, which arrange for WEEE to be collected and delivered to approved treatment facilities on producers’ behalf. The costs borne by producers through these arrangements help finance the collection, treatment, recovery and recycling of household WEEE, including appliances collected at local authority designated collection facilities, which accounts for about 50% of fridge recycling,  the other 50% of fridges are recycled by appliance producers and retailers.  According to official Defra data, 70,000 tons of fridges have been responsibly recycled in the UK so far this year.   Companies like the Appliance Recycling Group will also collect an old fridge from your home.  They’ll check if it’s suitable for reuse and if it is they will refurbish it and find it a new home.  If it isn’t, they ensure it’s responsibly recycled.  They can be found at http://collectmyelectricals.co.uk/.  Retailer AO will also collect a fridge and recycle it for a fee even if you have not purchased a new one with them.   We urge consumers to seek reputable companies if they need a fridge to be recycled to avoid fridges being dumped.

We understand that the situation has started to ease a little in some areas as additional treatment and storage capacity becomes available,  with further specialist facilities due to open over the next couple of years, and that there is currently spare fridge treatment capacity in Europe, so it is possible that some of the backlog of fridges needing to be recycled will be sent to approved specialist plants abroad.

In terms of new specialist recycling plants in the UK,  GAP in the North East opened a new fridge treatment plant in Scotland last year.  It’s state of the art and uses renewable energy to power it. Enva plans to open a new fridge treatment plan in Dartford in 2027.  These investments are only possible because of the money producers and their compliance schemes pay for fridge recycling.  If it wasn’t profitable they wouldn’t invest in new plants.

Whilst the current issues in refrigeration are hopefully relatively short term,  brought about by a ‘perfect storm’ of issues, we recognise that it does highlight the fragility of the supply chain and that more specialist recycling facilities need to be encouraged.  AMDEA has already called on all stakeholders to work collaboratively with industry to support sustained development and investment in the UK’s recycling infrastructure and help build the capacity and resilience needed to prevent similar disruption in the future, as well as recycling facilities that meet future needs and recycle to the highest standards.  Part of that is sharing with recyclers how producers see markets and technologies will develop in the coming years, allowing recyclers to design plants for the future and to give them the confidence to invest now. At the same time, we recognise that producers have an important role to play in closely managing their own relationships with their Product Compliance Scheme operators and ensuring that their obligations under the WEEE regime continue to be effectively met.