Portable handheld fans are now often stacked beside chewing gum and vapes at supermarket checkouts and discount stores, available for less than £10. Once mainly sold online, they’re convenient, affordable and increasingly popular.
Some people use them on the bus, in the park or while waiting for a train. But they’re another example of a growing environmental problem: fast tech. These typically low-cost electrical products are designed to be bought quickly, used briefly, then disposed of. Think charging cables, vapes and, increasingly, handheld fans.
Unlike traditional electrical and electronic equipment, many of these products have short lifespans and limited reuse and repair options. The result is a growing stream of waste electrical and electronic equipment, or e-waste, that is difficult to manage.
A handheld fan might only weigh 200g, but it contains a surprisingly complex mix of materials. Inside, you’ll typically find a plastic housing and fan, brushless motors that contain copper wiring and rare-earth magnets made from an element called neodymium, a small printed circuit board (the base of most electronic devices) and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. These materials all have environmental costs.
Mining and processing critical materials, including lithium and copper, requires large amounts of energy and water, and can have significant environmental consequences. Although each fan contains only small quantities of these materials, e-waste is a growing problem.
Our research estimates that more than 8 million handheld fans will be purchased in the UK in 2026. If current market trends continue, annual sales are expected to reach 9.8 million by 2030. With more frequent heatwaves, sales could exceed 11.4 million each year.
Just under half of fans are discarded annually, and only 62% are formally collected. This often means the remainder is probably being thrown into household rubbish bins or stored at home. We estimate that around 1.8 million handheld fans will end up in residual household waste in 2026, rising to 2.6 million by 2030 if current trends continue.
This is a problem because these products contain valuable materials that are lost instead of being recovered and recycled. Much of the residual waste is incinerated.
In addition, most handheld fans contain rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. When these batteries are crushed or punctured in waste collection vehicles or sorting facilities, they can ignite. Fires as a result of damaged batteries are a huge problem across the waste management sector.
Many handheld fans are inexpensive enough that replacing them is often cheaper than repairing them. But price isn’t the only barrier: many models are difficult to open without damaging the casing. Batteries are often glued in place, spare parts are unavailable, and repair instructions rarely exist.
Lucia Corsini is an Associate Professor, Head of the Circular Economy and Sustainability Lab, University of Oxford.
Ana Outeirinho Morgado is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Systems and Engineering Design for the Circular Economy.
Aya Abdelmeguid is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Design for the Circular Economy, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford.
This article was first published by The Conversation and is republished under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.
Rather than designing for durability or repairability, some manufacturers seem to be competing to sell more. Some offer features like digital screens stating your fan’s wind speed, or options to add aromatherapy pods and essential oils.
The challenge isn’t simply that products are cheap. It’s that many are designed in ways that encourage conspicuous consumption (buying products to flaunt them and signal social status) while making reuse, repair and recycling more difficult.
Pause before purchasing
Handheld fans certainly have a place, especially during heatwaves and for people who are particularly vulnerable to high temperatures.
But before buying one, it’s worth asking a few questions. Do I really need one? Could I choose a simpler design with fewer unnecessary features? Does the retailer offer warranties or take-back services? Will I still be using it in a few years’ time?
Whatever you do, don’t throw a handheld fan into your household rubbish bin. You can take your unwanted e-waste to household recycling centres that accept small electrical items. Some retailers provide free instore electrical recycling, and local collection points are listed online.
Creating a less wasteful, more circular economy isn’t just about recycling. It’s about designing products that last longer, and that can be reused and repaired.
EU policies, such as the eco-design for sustainable products regulation and right to repair measures, ensure that products are designed for durability and repairability. This makes it easier for people to access repair services and therefore extend product lifetimes.
Similar reforms are also being considered in the UK, as part of an environmental policy called extended producer responsibility (making brands and manufacturers financially and operationally responsible for the entire life-cycle of their products, including disposal). The UK’s right to repair law, introduced in 2021, requires manufacturers to make spare parts and technical manuals available for major household appliances.
But until those changes become more widespread and applicable to more products, consumers still have an important role to play – by minimising unnecessary consumption (for example, by considering alternatives like paper fans or damp cloths) and avoiding improper disposal.
The next time you see a £6.99 handheld fan at the checkout, ask yourself: will I still be using this in three summers’ time? If the answer is no, it may not be such a bargain after all.