Key facts
- Britons are projected to buy approximately 8 million mini fans this year.
- Nearly half of these fans are expected to be low-quality and discarded within a year.
- Online searches for electric handheld fans have already surpassed 2025's total in the first six months of this year.
- Retailers like Joybuy and Currys reported massive week-on-week sales increases for fans during recent heatwaves.
- Improper disposal of these fans, particularly those with lithium-ion batteries, poses fire risks in waste management systems.
Britons are on track to purchase nearly 8 million mini fans this year as heatwaves drive demand, but concerns are growing that almost half of these low-cost, low-quality devices will end up in landfill within a year. Online searches for electric handheld fans have surged, more than doubling in the first six months of the year compared to the entirety of 2025, according to data from the campaign group Material Focus.
Retailers have confirmed a significant uptick in cooling technology sales. Joybuy reported a week-on-week increase of over 2,500% in electrical fan sales during a recent heatwave, even giving away 6,000 handheld fans. John Lewis saw sales of its £15 neck fans more than triple, while Currys experienced near 3,000% sales growth over a hot weekend, leading to supply shortages.
With temperatures in the UK potentially exceeding 30C for up to 10 consecutive days, Scott Butler of Material Focus urged consumers to opt for better-quality products or alternatives like paper fans, and to recycle broken items. He noted that many mini fans are quickly discarded or forgotten, representing a waste of scarce raw materials. Last year, 55% of mini-fans were thrown away, and if this trend continues, an estimated 4.3 million of the 7.9 million fans bought this year could face the same fate.
Waste managers have not yet observed a significant rise in disposable fans in refuse collections. However, Richard Hudson from the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management warned that incorrect disposal of electrical items, especially those with high-powered lithium-ion batteries, can cause fires during collection and processing, endangering workers and facilities. He highlighted the environmental impact of mass-producing cheap, short-lived electrical goods.