Progress has been aided by a change in guidance on the classification of business and household electrical goods, which is likely to mean that more WEEE from business sources can be counted towards household collection figures.
The provisional data, which has been available via the Agency’s website since Friday (May 29), shows that a total of 125,081 tonnes of all categories of WEEE were collected for recycling between January and April 2014.
The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) has set a target to collect a total of 506,878 tonnes of WEEE in 2015 which means that a quarterly collection rate of 126,719 tonnes would be required, close to what has been collected during the first quarter of the year.
Currently the UK is collecting a greater volume of WEEE than it did during the same period 12 months earlier, when 118,837 tonnes of WEEE were gathered. The UK met its 2014 collection target of 490,000 tonnes, with final data showing that 494,254 tonnes was collected overall. The 2015 target represents a 16% increase in the amount of WEEE that will need to be collected.
Volumes
A BIS spokesman said: “We welcome the overall increase in collection of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment for the period January to March 2015 compared to this time last year. The increased collection of LDA and the continued increase in cooling equipment compared with 2014 are also welcome, whilst the ongoing drop in display collections appears to be in line with our expectations at the start of the year.”
Released alongside the WEEE collection data are figures detailing the amount of new electronic equipment placed onto the market, which reveals that there has been a steady climb in the volume of new products entering the marketplace in 2015 than in the same period 12 months earlier. The figures show that 308,000 tonnes of EEE were placed onto the market in Q1 2015, compared to 262,000 tonnes for the same period in 2014.
It is thought that this is likely to be a result of increased consumer confidence in the economic climate, as well as the changes to the way that EEE & WEEE are classed as being used in ‘household’ or ‘business’ functions with new guidance having been published in February (see letsrecycle.com story).
Commenting on the EEE figures, Nigel Harvey, chief executive of lighting WEEE compliance scheme Recolight, said: “If you compare the first quarter in 2014 and 2015 there is an 18% difference [in EEE]. That is probably due to the economy improving but it may be because some producers are reporting dual use EEE as household.”
Dual use
Definitions of household and non-household WEEE were amended after the UK’s classification of household and business WEEE were found to be at odds with that held by the European Commission.
The difference centred on the interpretation of ‘dual use’ WEEE, which includes items such as PCs or television screens, which could conceivably be used in business or by consumers. In the UK, the definition was also qualified by the quantity of WEEE being presented for collection.
The new definition is in line with that held by the European Commission and states that any WEEE of a similar nature to that presented to householders, regardless of how much is presented, should be classed as household WEEE.
James Champ, WEEE product manager at compliance specialist ecosurety, added: “As expected, overall the dual use reinterpretation has seen some increase in reporting for both EEE and WEEE data. As we go through quarters two and three it will be interesting to see further developments in UK EEE data as more producers review and revise their own reporting in line with dual use.”
For a detailed look at WEEE legislation and issues affecting the sector join us for the one day WEEE Conference, hosted by letsrecycle.com in London on Thursday (June 4).
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