What happens to old cookers when they die?

mine snuffed it last night. I know some suppliers will take your old fridge away when you buy a new one but not heard anything about a similar deal for freestanding cookers

Call the City Council, they will take it to a Household Waste Recycling Centre (for a fee).
https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/cookers-ovens

Or if you know someone with a car then you can get them to take it to the HWRC for you.

https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/large-items-bulky-waste

To answer your question, when cookers die they are shredded. The metal is recycled and reused and the plastics are processed and remade into other things:
http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/info/20128/recycling_centres/505/what...

Good news, and bad then. At least I know that all that metal will go back into something useful. Though I will probably have to rope someone into helping me since I didn't wire it up to the mains (probably not that complicated, but not without risk) and need to carry it down 4 sets of stairs (which I'm guessing the City Council are not going to do, and also not without risk). It doesn't say if they will literally pick it up from your door, when that door is not on the ground floor...

You can call them and see. I imagine that they are used to people living in difficult to reach houses, they might have provision for helping you. You never know.

If you're in Cam I'll come and take it away for you. You'll have to help me move it though. No charge.

i bought a cooker from Currys just before Christmas and they took away the old one for free.

^ how is your head BB after that heavy rock lifting experience a while ago? I have a friend who is convinced it can be repaired (which has complicated things now). He has a friend who knows more about that kind of thing, only I have no idea how long until he can look at it, so no more muffins for me for a while

^^ glad someone can say nice things about Currys. I ordered a fridge/freezer just after Christmas but had to cancel the order when after 6 weeks I figured they had no hope of delivering (blamed the manufacturer). what with deflation just around the corner probably better for me to get these things now, since savings isn't worth shit

You have a friend who is convinced my head can be repaired? How interesting ;-)

It was my neck actually. I tore my carotid artery. Yeah it's fine thanks, although I'm a lot more aware of its existence now and occasionally think it's going to tear again and I'll just drop stone dead. I think that it's more my vivid imagination though than a medical probability. :-)