Britons are expected to purchase nearly 8 million mini fans this year as they "surge onto the market" amid hot weather - but almost half of those are predicted to be low-quality products that end up in a landfill within a year. Waste managers and recycling campaigners are raising concerns as online searches for electrically powered handheld fans, some selling for as little as £2, have already surpassed the total for all of 2025 in just the first six months of this year. The late June heat surge caused Google searches to more than double month-on-month, according to data from the campaign group Material Focus.

Electrical goods retailers have confirmed an increase in demand for cooling technology. Online specialist Joybuy reported sales of all electrical fans were up more than 2,500% week-on-week during last month's heatwave. The Chinese group, which sells handheld fans for under £5, has fueled the trend by giving away 6,000 of them free at transport hubs in London. John Lewis said sales of its £15 neck fan more than tripled during the heatwave, while the boss of Currys admitted that fans were in short supply after sales rose almost 3,000% over the hottest weekend compared with a week earlier. Temperatures in the UK could exceed 30°C for up to 10 consecutive days from midweek, with peak temperatures of 34°C forecast.

Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, urged people to seek better-quality products or alternatives like paper fans, and to take broken items to local recycling facilities. "Mini fans, one of the poster children of fast-tech, first appeared en masse last year and more are surging on to the market during this heatwave, helping us deal with this extreme heat," he said. "But many are, as quickly as they are bought, thrown away or lie forgotten at the bottom of our drawers of doom. Instead, with a bit more thought, we could buy an item that could last a bit longer, work just as well but be better for the environment." Last year the group calculated that 55% of mini fans were thrown away, and with about 7.9 million expected to be bought in the UK in 2026, 4.3 million are likely to be discarded this year if habits continue.

Waste managers said they had not yet seen a rise in disposable fans turning up in refuse collections, but users should not put used items in bins and should check with local councils or retailers for take-back schemes. Richard Hudson, policy and technical manager at the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, warned: "Any electrical items incorrectly disposed of in kerbside recycling or residual waste collections can cause problems for waste handlers. These items get crushed and damaged during collection rounds, and as they contain high-powered lithium-ion batteries, they can then easily catch fire, causing serious risks to workers, equipment, waste facilities and the wider environment. The mass production of cheap, low-quality electrical items that are neither designed for longevity, nor with end-of-life management in mind, are a big user of scarce critical raw materials."