Zero Waste Charging Cables and Power Banks
These bio-based charging cables have exteriors made from plant-based materials, sold in an easy-to-recycle paper sleeve. Engineered with lightning-fast data transfer speeds, so you don’t compromise on performance.
Check devices before choosing a charger, and never overload sockets.
recable is a German company that makes zero waste charging cables and other devices. Made with vegan conflict-free materials (and wrapped in a paper belly band), they are easy to recycle, and lovingly handmade to fast-charge your smartphone. In pretty colours, they have almost half the carbon footprint of conventional cables.
Due to adapters being glued by others, their manufacturer can’t provide precise info if lightning cable glue used is vegan (it may be, they are trying to find out). All other items are vegan.
Power Banks (made from old plastic bags!)
Gomi Power Bank is handmade in Brighton from recycled plastic bags, and is also easy to repair. It holds enough power to recharge your phone up to three times, and also uses second-life batteries for durable but eco-friendly power. It’s sold alongside USB-A and USB-C fast charging ports. Sold in a zero waste case too.
Designed to be repaired by you in just 10 minutes, it can charge your phone up to 3 times, and charge 2 devices at once (due to USB-A and USB-C ports).
It’s also lightweight and sleek, easy to fit into your pocket. This unique company also makes sound speakers from the same recycled materials.
This charger offers over 50% fewer carbon emissions than repairable chargers. The charger can even charge up to two devices at the same time, and yet is a portable size, to carry with you, when you’re out and about.
Where to Recycle Unwanted Electronics
If you have frayed unused cables, fill up a Zero Waste Bag from Terracycle with other hard-to-recycle goods (to make in something else). Or recycled at your local depot.
Don’t send unwanted electronics to Africa. In Gambia, Bakoteh rubbish dump is the most toxic in the world, housed with all the electronic trash we are encouraged to send over there, when we’ve finished with it here.
Because the laws are not so strict there, workers suffer pollution and injuries from processing the used phones and laptops that companies try to ship over there, a kind of ‘environmental racism’.
Know that if you buy something from a store, by law you should be able to take back the old/broken version to be recycled.
For the most part, you can recycle electrical items at your local refuse centre (the average person buys 3 new items a year so that’s a massive amount of electrical waste, if not recycled.
Don’t donate goods as they could be faulty. Many shops now offer take-back schemes (ask in-store, you don’t necessarily have to buy a new item in order to do this). Some local councils even accept small electrical goods in clear bags from kerbside, if it’s convenient.
Items that can be recycled include:
- Anything with a plug or charger (or has a picture of a crossed-out wheelie bin) along with items that use batteries (jewellers can recycled small batteries).
- Garden tools (mowers, shredders)
- Personal care items (hairdryers, shavers, electric toothbrushes)
- Small appliances (kettles, blenders, toasters)
- Toys, games, lamps, radios, CD/DVD players
- Phones, printers, cameras, torches
- Smoke alarms and vacuum cleaners
- Christmas tree lights
All of these items are classed as WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment). So cannot go in normal refuse bins. From January 2026, UK firms that until now have not contributed to the Environment Agency fund to collect and recycle electronic goods (washing machines, vacuum cleaners, radios) must now do so, by reporting how many items they sell to consumers, to ensure they pay their fair share.
Charities like Donate a PC often refurbish old hardware for reuse.
