Defra confirm 2025 Household WEEE collection targets

After the consultation earlier in the year, Defra have confirmed the 2025 household WEEE collection targets.

The UK household WEEE collection target for 2025 has been set as 517,285 tonnes which is 21,032 tonnes (4.24%) more than the total amount of household WEEE collected and reported by PCSs to the environment agencies in 2024.

The targets Defra set are drawn together based on historical data and market insights as an indicator of the WEEE that is likely to be available for collection in 2025.

The 2025 proposed target is set higher than the actual 2024 collection levels, but the targets are not higher than 2023 collection levels in every category. A summary of changes by category are displayed in the table below.

Setting the collection targets

The analysis of previous data excluded 2020 data due to the pandemic's impact and acknowledged potential distortions in 2021 collections. Initially, a six-year trend forecast was used, but this approach led to negative growth rates in many WEEE categories, failing to reflect post-2022 collection growth. Instead, Defra used a three-year baseline analysis, averaging growth rates from 2021/22 to 2023/24, resulting in an initial 2025 target of 499,544 tonnes. Category-specific adjustments were then made –maintaining 2024 levels for stable or declining categories (LHAs), applying last year’s growth rate for growing categories (Display, Cooling, Lamps), and adding a 1.5% uplift for Small Mixed WEEE (SMW). These adjustments led to a final 2025 household WEEE collection target of 512,209 tonnes, better aligning with expected arisings or electricals as waste.

Analysis by category

Category 1: Large Household Appliances (LHA)

The three-year trend analysis set a target of 162,826 tonnes, representing a 2.68% reduction compared to the 2024 collection level of 167,316 tonnes. The trend indicates a strong correlation between scrap metal prices and LHA waste volumes in the WEEE system, with higher prices leading to lower collection rates as scrap traders divert waste LHA. Unlike other WEEE categories, LHA is considered a 'value' waste stream rather than a cost stream, ensuring it is collected for recycling – whether through the WEEE system or the scrap metal market – rather than being landfilled, incinerated, or fly-tipped.

Categories 2-10: Small Mixed WEEE (SMW)

The three-year trend analysis shows an average growth rate of 4.46%, which would set a 2025 target of 145,528 tonnes based on 2024 collection levels. However, recent trends indicated a higher uplift was justified, as collection tonnages have risen steadily, exceeding targets, with an increase from around 110,000 tonnes in 2020 to 140,000 tonnes in 2024, including a 6% rise in both 2023 and 2024. This growth is partly attributed to Material Focus’s awareness campaigns, which have influenced household recycling behaviours. To reflect this, an additional 1.5% uplift has been applied, resulting in a total increase of 5.96% compared to 2024 collections, setting the overall target for all SMW categories at 147,580 tonnes. 

Category 11: Display Equipment

Display equipment collections had been declining since 2012 due to lighter new products, but have seen annual increases since 2021, possibly indicating a reversal of this trend, though levels remain below those of a decade ago. The baseline methodology suggests a 5.91% uplift to 49,891 tonnes, but recent data shows a progressively increasing growth rate – around 2% in 2022, 6% in 2023, and 9% in 2024 – highlighting the need to account for this rising trajectory. To reflect these trends, the 2025 target is set at a 9.60% growth rate, bringing it to 51,631 tonnes.

Category 12: Cooling

The three-year trend analysis suggests a 2025 cooling collection target of 136,834 tonnes, a 0.87% decrease from 2024. However, this is skewed by unusually high 2021 collections, likely due to HWRC closures during the pandemic and stored broken equipment. Since then, collection rates have been steadily increasing. To reflect this trend, the target is set using last year’s growth rate of 2.19%, resulting in a 2025 target of 141,068 tonnes.

Category 13: Lamps

Lamp collections have declined over time due to the shift to longer-lasting LED lamps. However, given the ease of disposing of lamps in residual waste, Defra wanted to set collection targets which encourage higher recovery rates. The analysis suggests a 0.26% increase for 2025, leading to a target of 4,066tonnes. This balances the decline in waste lamp volumes while incentivising proper disposal and reducing residual waste.

Category 14: Photovoltaic Panels

PV panel collections are relatively small and subject to significant annual fluctuations, though the long-term trend shows steady growth as their use increases. The three-year average growth trend sets a 2025 target of 519 tonnes, a 21.27% increase from 2024, balancing collection incentives with uncertainty. Given past fluctuations, such as a 50% growth rate between 2021 and 2022, this target reflects both ambition and the variability in annual collection rates.