2025 WEEE Methodology and Targets
Source: environment.data.gov.uk (2025-04-22)

2013 WEEE REGULATIONS – Household WEEE Collection targets. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 require the Secretary of State to set the tonnage of household WEEE collections falling within each category of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) that is to be financed by producers via their membership of a Producer Compliance Scheme (PCS).

2013 WEEE REGULATIONS – PROPOSED HOUSEHOLD WEEE COLLECTION TARGETS FOR 2025 
 
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 require the Secretary of State to set the tonnage of household 
WEEE collections falling within each category of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) that is to be financed by producers via 
their membership of a Producer Compliance Scheme (PCS). This paper sets out household WEEE collection targets for 2025.  
 
The UK household WEEE collection target for 2025 is 517,285 tonnes. Overall, it 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.  
These targets take into account likely household WEEE arising in the system (based on historical data and market insights), and 
therefore the WEEE that is likely to be available for collection in 2025. If additional tonnages of WEEE are collected, so that the target 
is exceeded, the regulations guarantee that all WEEE arising at local authorities will be financed by Producer Compliance Schemes. 
Therefore, collections may be higher than the target. 
 
Table 1 below shows targets across the 14 categories of EEE. It also shows trend data across each category. PCSs will not be 
required to achieve individual collection targets for categories 2-10, provided that they have achieved the aggregate of those targets 
overall. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
Business to Consumer waste collected (tonnes) 
Targets (tonnes) 
Increase 
from 
2024 
collection 
(%) 
2018 
2019 
2020 
2021 
2022 
2023 
2024 
2023 
2024 
2025 
Baseline 
Method 
Revised 
2025 
1 - Large 
Household 
Appliances 
169,577 175,236 186,368 182,646 164,250 159,276 167,316 164,250 159,273 
162,826 
172,384 
3.03% 
2 - Small 
Household 
Appliances 
38,046 
35,542 
27,938 
31,386 
32,759 
33,587 
35,692 
33,415 
35,115 
37,259 
37,795 
5.89% 
3 - IT and 
Telecoms 
Equipment 
45,013 
44,798 
31,974 
36,681 
37,119 
39,613 
40,408 
37,861 
41,415 
41,744 
42,350 
4.81% 
4 - 
Consumer 
Equipment 
36,529 
36,034 
19,557 
20,917 
20,450 
20,950 
22,527 
20,859 
21,903 
23,109 
23,447 
4.08% 
5 - Lighting 
Equipment 
- 
582 
4,483 
5,253 
5,133 
5,535 
6,075 
5,236 
5,787 
6,385 
6,476 
6.60% 
6 - 
Electrical 
and 
Electronic 
Tools 
17,901 
17,838 
20,147 
22,741 
22,953 
25,322 
27,392 
23,412 
26,478 
29,166 
29,577 
7.98% 
7 - Toys, 
Leisure and 
Sports 
2,194 
2,283 
3,968 
4,542 
4,621 
5,036 
5,903 
4,713 
5,266 
6,453 
6,541 
10.81% 
8 - Medical 
Devices 
6 
3 
13 
11 
11 
27 
50 
11 
28 
89 
89 
80.16% 

 
 
9 - 
Monitoring 
and Control 
Instruments 
146 
156 
969 
1,105 
1,079 
1,138 
1,251 
1,101 
1,190 
1,305 
1,324 
5.85% 
10 - 
Automatic 
Dispensers 
0 
0 
- 
- 
7 
3 
10 
7 
3 
18 
18 
86.49% 
11 - Display 
Equipment 
47,066 
44,615 
36,029 
39,707 
40,428 
42,980 
47,107 
41,237 
46,239 
49,891 
51,631 
9.60% 
12 - Cooling 
Appliances 
Containing 
Refrigerants 
131,939 134,811 125,005 141,947 134,274 135,073 138,038 135,393 135,075 
136,834 
141,068 
2.19% 
13 - Gas 
Discharge 
Lamps 
4,819 
4,553 
3,445 
4,024 
4,051 
4,049 
4,055 
4,145 
4,059 
4,066 
4,066 
0.26% 
14 - 
Photovoltaic 
Panels 
87 
65 
236 
254 
382 
460 
428 
302 
504 
519 
519 
21.27% 
Small Mixed 
WEEE 
(sub-total)* 
139,835 137,235 109,050 122,635 124,131 131,210 139,308 126,615 137,185 
 
145,528 
147,617 
5.96% 
Total 
without 
Large 
323,746 321,279 273,766 308,567 303,266 313,771 328,936 307,692 323,062 
336,838 
344,901 
4.85% 

 
 
Household 
Appliances 
Total 
493,323 496,514 460,134 491,213 467,517 473,047 496,253 471,942 482,335 
499,664 
517,285 
4.24% 

 
 
Methodology 
2020 was an extraordinary year for WEEE collections, and as a result the 
corresponding data for 2020 has not been included in the analysis of historical trends 
for the calculation of the 2025 target. Furthermore, 2021 collections are also likely to 
have been affected by the pandemic.  
 
The starting point for setting targets has, historically, been to undertake a six-year 
trend forecast to identify the total tonnage for collection of each individual category of 
WEEE. Using 6 years out of 7 for a trend forecast has been done previously to mitigate 
the effects of the pandemic. However, applying a 6-year forecast to the 2024 WEEE 
collection figures results in negative average growth rates being applied to many 
categories of WEEE, with significant decreases in targets seen in some categories. 
This would not reflect the growth seen in WEEE collection rates since 2022 and it 
would therefore not be appropriate to set lower targets than the 2024 collection level. 
For this reason, we have used a baseline approach that considers the growth rate in 
WEEE collections over a 3-year period – using an average of the growth rate between 
2021/22 and 2023/24.  
 
The baseline forecast suggests a household WEEE collection target of 499,664 tonnes 
in 2025. 
Below we have outlined each WEEE category and whether the baseline methodology 
is appropriate for that category. There are specific market conditions present in many 
of the categories that we believe necessitate individual attention being paid to in the 
process of target setting, and as a result these targets have been amended from the 
baseline methodology. In cases in which we believe there is a reason for setting a 
more ambitious target than suggested by pure mathematical average of 3-year growth 
rates, we propose either setting the target based on last year’s growth rate (Display 
and Cooling) or adjusting the baseline trend by additional 1.5% uplift (SMW). The 
special case is LHAs category in which last year growth rate and an average of two 
years’ growth rate were combined to arrive at an acceptable mid-point between those 
two values. 
 
The outlined target amendments result in a household collection target of 517,285 
tonnes. We believe this target is likely to more accurately reflect the WEEE arisings in 
the system in 2025. 
 
WEEE Category Breakdown 
 
Category 1: Large Household Appliances (LHA)  
 
Under the baseline methodology, the 3-year trend analysis resulted in a target of 
162,826 tonnes, which is 2.68% below the 2024 collection level of 167,316 tonnes.  

 
 
 
Trend shows there is a strong relationship between scrap metal prices and the 
volumes of LHA waste arising in the formal WEEE system. A high scrap metal price 
corresponds to a lower collection rate, as there is greater incentive for scrap traders 
to acquire waste LHA.  
 
There is no evidence to indicate that the collection level will fall below 2024 levels. 
Options considered were either setting the target based on last year's growth rate or 
setting the target at an average of the last two years' growth rate baseline. The first 
option would result in a more ambitious increase of 5.05% compared to the previous 
year’s collection numbers. The second result was more conservative and would yield 
an increase of 1.01%. The current scrap metal prices are slightly decreased this year 
from previous years. This increases the probability of slightly reduced demand for 
scrap metal being treated through other waste streams and consequently more 
availability of this material for waste electrical treatment sites. Taking into account 
fluctuations of collections rates in previous years, the target has been set at a mid-
point value between those two alternatives, an increase of 3.03% that results in a 
target of 172,384 tonnes. Unlike other categories of WEEE, LDA is generally 
recognised as a “value” waste stream rather than a cost stream.  It is therefore the 
case that irrespective of whether such waste is collected and processed under the 
WEEE Regulations or as part of the scrap metal waste stream it will be collected for 
recycling rather than going to landfill or incineration. It does not get fly-tipped for the 
same reason.   
 
Categories 2-10: Small Mixed WEEE (SMW) 
 
Under the baseline methodology, the 3-year trend analysis results in an average 
growth rate of 4.46%. Applying this growth rate to the 2024 collection levels gives a 
2025 target of 145,528. However, there are several factors that support a higher uplift 
of 3-year trend. There is a rising trend in the tonnage of collections in recent years with 
actual collection rates being above the set collection targets. The annual collected 
tonnage increased from circa 110,000 in 2020 to 140,00 in 2024. There was an 
increase of 6% in 2023 and 2024.  We believe this can at least in part be attributed to 
the significant awareness campaigns run by Material Focus over the past 3 years 
which is now featuring changing behaviours amongst householders leading to more 
material being properly recycled. To reflect this trend an additional uplift of 1.5% on 
top of an average of the 3-year trend has been applied.  
For these reasons, the baseline methodology plus 1.5% has been applied to SMW, 
with a 5.96% uplift for all categories of SMW compared with 2024 collections. This 
gives an overall target of 147,618 for all categories of SMW. 
 
Category 11: Display Equipment 
 

 
 
Display equipment had seen declining collections since 2012 due to decreased weight 
of new display equipment. However, since 2021 collection levels have seen annual 
increases, perhaps indicating that the trend of declining weights of new products is 
reversing – although collection levels are still lower than a decade ago. Applying the 
baseline methodology to display equipment results in an uplift of 5.91%, to 49,891 
tonnes.  
However, in the last 4 years there is an observable trend of collection rates growth 
rates progressively increasing in this category. The annual growth rate of collection 
rates in this category was circa 2% in 2022, 6% in 2023 and 9% in 2024. Thus, there 
is a need to accommodate the rising growth curve in display equipment collections.  
Moreover, there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that PCSs have sought to 
reduce their exposure to category 11 towards the end of this year substantiated by 
increased volumes also appearing in the Producer Balancing System.  To reflect this 
trend, the target is set at the growth rate of last year (9.60%) bringing the 2025 target 
to 51,631 tonnes.  
 
Category 12: Cooling 
 
Applying the baseline methodology to cooling collections data would suggest a 2025 
target of 136,834 tonnes, a 0.87% decrease from the 2024 collections. However, this 
is skewed by the fact that 2021 collections were higher than usual (possibly due to 
closure of HWRCs in 2020 and broken equipment being stored). Since then, collection 
rates have been moderately rising each year. For this reason, the cooling collection 
target is set by applying last year’s growth rate (2.19%) – giving a level of collection of 
141,068 tonnes.  
 
Category 13: Lamps 
 
Lamp collections have declined over the long term as households switch to LED lamps 
that have significantly longer lifespans than fluorescent bulbs. However, due to the 
ease of disposing lamps in residual waste, collection targets should show a level of 
ambition to increase collections. Applying the 3-year baseline methodology to the 
lamps collection data suggests that the 2025 target should be a 0.26% increase on 
the 2024 collection tonnage. This leads to a target of 4,066 tonnes. This figure reflects 
the declining number of lamps that arise as waste, whilst also providing incentives to 
prevent lamps being disposed of in residual streams.  
 
Category 14: Photovoltaic Panels 
 
The volume of PV panels collected is very small relative to the other categories and 
therefore is vulnerable to significant annual fluctuations. However, the long-term trend 
still reflects a growth in the number of PV panels being collected as their use and sale 

 
 
increases. Applying the baseline methodology of average 3-year growth trend results 
in a 2025 target of 519 tonnes, a 21.27% uplift from 2024 collections. This reflects the 
uncertainty around the fluctuations of PV panels annual collections while still providing 
an incentive for collection by giving a relatively for this category moderate increase. 
For example, growth rate between 2021 and 2022 amounted to circa 50%. Thus, we 
believe that the target of 519 tonnes strikes a balance between ambition in that 
category and uncertainty regarding annual growth rates.