WEEE data released by Defra

The Environment Agency has released latest data on the collection of household waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) by producer compliance schemes and their members.

The data shows a slight fall in the amount of household WEEE collected between July and September when compared to the same point in the previous year, with 133,428 tonnes collected in 2020 and 125,8668 tonnes in 2021.

The sector saw WEEE collections hugely impacted during the initial UK lockdown in March 2020 and, since an initial increase in collection figures after that point, has seen a plateau across all collation types.

After initial fears of continued lockdowns early in 2021, the data released indicates a relatively positive end to 2021 with many categories likely to meet the 2021 targets, and those unable to meet targets missing them only fractionally.

Vikkie Fitzgerald, Head of WEEE at Clarity Environmental, commented on the data.

“The WEEE data for Q3 looks extremely positive for meeting targets for 2021, with many categories reporting tonnage beyond the figures we would hope to see with only one quarter remaining.

“The main surprise from the data released is that Category 14 has only 180 tonnes of the 274 tonnes needed to meet the target. Given the revised 2021 protocol, I would have expected this figure to be much closer to 75% of the target.

“Comparing 2021 with the previous year is difficult given the adverse impact of lockdown on WEEE tonnage in 2020, however it seems that the mandated retailer take-back has had little impact on tonnage reported through 2021. It will be interesting to see if this changes in the final quarter of this year, with black Friday and cyber-Monday potentially boosting take-back and the inevitable preparation of families to gift new electrical items over the holidays.”

What are WEEE obligations?

If your business manufactures, imports or rebrands electrical or electronic goods in the UK then you must comply with the UK Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. This requires you to join a WEEE compliance scheme and declare tonnages of EEE placed on the market.

To understand more about these regulations, get in touch with our expert team.