Decide what to buy | the Reevoo.com blog, featuring news on TVs, cameras, laptops, mp3 players & other gadgets, shopping tips and deals, reviews and more

The only problem with buying yourself a great new gadget, or fitting out your kitchen with up-to-the minute appliances is what to do with the things they replace. Disposing of old electricals can be a bit of a headache and they often end up gathering dust at the back of a cupboard or in the attic.

At the moment, over 75% of old electricals end up in landfills, polluting the soil. Every year Britain produces enough electrical waste to fill Wembley Stadium 6 times over. And this mountain of junk is growing - Britain produces 5% more electrical waste every year.

The irony is that over 85% of the materials that make up electrical goods are recyclable, and recycling them has never been easier. Here’s our quick guide to the right way to get rid of old TVs, kitchen appliances, gadgets and mobile phones.

What can I recycle?

If your product has a plug or a battery it can probably be recycled.  Double check by looking for the crossed-out wheely bin symbol somewhere on the product case or manual.

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Happy 2009!

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year.

Let’s kick off 2009 with a time and space saving gadget. There have been lots of rumours about the Powermat but at this year’s CES (Consumer Electronics Association), we’ve finally heard that they will be in stores this year.

What are they? They’re mats that can be plugged in and will simultaneously charge a whole heap of gadgets, all at the same time, wirelessly.

That’s no more chargers cluttering up your house, no more tangled wires and no need to use multiple plugs when you need to charge up more than one thing at the same time.

The Powermat uses magnetic induction and, according to the website, “When a Powermat-enabled device is placed on the mat, a “handshake” process synchronizes the mat with the receiver and electric power is generated to meet the specific energy needs of the device.”They’ll then monitor the power in the device and disconnect power to each device once they’ve finished charging.

Powermats will also be able to be used in cars with their universal, window mount car charger for hand-held devices.

At the moment, you can use the Powermat with mobile phones, laptops, iPods, digital cameras, handheld games consoles and sat navs.

Pretty exciting stuff but we still have no word on prices. So we’ll wait and see about the price tags on these things before we go ahead and liberate our chargers.

For more info, check out the website.

For all you original iPhone owners who’ve been fed up with your battery life, this new product may ease the pain a little. The iPow, although it sounds like something out of a Batman comic, is actually an external battery case for the original iPhone (3G version on the way).

It can be charged up at the same time as your iPhone and will apparently double the battery life. It also provides a leather top which closes with a magnetic clasp and mini stereo speakers which are twice as loud as the ones on the iPhone.

It’s not the prettiest of things and in my opinion, makes the iPhone look a little clumpy. It’ll also add 98 grams to your handbag or pocket but if you’re after more juice, then I suppose it’s not so bad. You can pick one up at twistedcarbon for £49.99.

There’s a wintery theme to this week’s Gadget Watch. As it’s been getting freezing of late, I’ve found something that might make the commute into work on those cold and frosty mornings a little easier - battery powered heated gloves. Just turn them on a few minutes before you leave the house so that they’re all nice and toasty when you put them on.

You lose a lot of heat through your head and your extremities like your hands and feet so these should warm you up a treat.

A few of the battery powered heated glove reviews have mentioned that they use up batteries pretty quick so may I suggest using the rechargeable kind? You can get your hands on a whole heap of batteries here.

If you?re bored of buying batteries for your all your children?s toys, here are some to give you, and the planet, a bit of a break.

First up is the wind-up radio that also works as a mobile phone charger, suitable for old and new Nokias as well as Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola handsets.

As well as relieving the planet from batteries, the radio also comes packed in bio-degradable packaging.

You can get your hands on a red football radio or a pink heart radio. Both are ?8.49.

Next is the Bat Torch. He requires no batteries and will never run out. All you need to do is squeeze him to operate the light.

He will also stand upright so that he can act as a nightlight. You can pick one up for ?4.99.

And here?s an interesting one. A women?s cooperative in the Philippines make these bags from recycled juice cartons. Seeing as the juice cartons use non-biodegradable foil on the inside, they would otherwise be sent to clog up landfill sites or be incinerated, so it?s a great way to reuse the cartons.

They make loads of different bags but as we’re all about little people today, these kids? backpacks are good and come in loads of different fruits and colours. They’re ?12.99.

You can find out more about the cooperative here.

If you’re looking for more normal toys, you can read toy reviews over on Reevoo to help you decide what to buy.