Q4 UK WEEE Compliance Data for 2025

The Environment Agency published the Q4 2025 UK WEEE data on 1^st March 2026.

Q4 WEEE Compliance Data: With revised WEEE Regulations coming into force on 12 August 2025 (see WEEE Regulations 2025 Amendment news article) the figures include, for the first time:

1. Volumes of EEE reported by online marketplaces (OMPs) for non-UK sellers on their platform; and
2. A separate figure for the new Category 15 – Vapes & E-cigarettes (prior to 12 August 2025 volumes were reported as part of Category 7.

As a result, data comparisons to previous years are impacted by these newly reported volumes.  To provide analysis on a like-for-like basis ERP have removed the OMP volumes from the EEE POM analysis below and provided a separate table and analysis.

The data also confirms that the UK has not achieved the 2025 collection targets in some streams, including Display Equipment (Category 11), Small Mixed WEEE categories 2-10 and Gas Discharge Lamps (Category 13), which was expected based on the UK data published throughout the year.

EEE placed on the UK market (POM)

The table below demonstrates that the total volume of EEE POM in 2025 increased by nearly 72,000 tonnes compared to 2024. When comparing 2025 total EEE POM volumes against last year (2024), we can see that there was an increase across all streams, apart from Display Equipment (Category 11) and Gas Discharge Lamps (Category 13). The largest increases were in Cooling Appliances (Category 12) which increased by 9% and Photovoltaic Panels (Category 14), which increased by 19%. Overall, the was an 5% increase on 2024 volumes.

2025 POM volume is the highest total since 2021, and the highest annual total volume on record. Worth noting that this is the case even without the previously unreported OMP EEE volumes.

Whilst the 55,781 tonnes of EEE reported by OMPs add only 3.2% to total UK EEE, as had been expected, they are particularly concentrated in certain categories.   The table below shows the additional volumes reported by OMPs (part-year) by category and as a % of the non-OMP volume (which is for the full year).  The largest increases in volume are seen in small household appliances, lighting equipment and toys, leisure and sports.  In percentage terms, automatic dispensers and lamps also show significant proportions.

The chart below shows both the 2025 total EEE POM data, excluding and including the OMP EEE POM data (in orange)

The charts below compare the volumes of EEE placed onto the UK market for each stream over the last four years (2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025), whilst showing the OMP POM data in 2025.

All streams have increased in 2025, apart from Display Equipment (Category 11) the only stream to show a small decrease.

WEEE collected

As the table below demonstrates, there was a 3% increase in WEEE collected across all streams in Q4 2025 vs Q4 2024.

Collections of Large Household Appliances (Category 1), Small Mixed WEEE categories (Categories 2-10) and Photovoltaic Panels (Category 14) all increased from this time last year,

whilst Cooling Appliances (Category 12), Display Equipment (Category 11) and Gas Discharge Lamps (Category 13) all decreased. Overall collected tonnage in Q4 2025 was over 3,500 tonnes more than that collected in Q4 2024.

When comparing 2025 total collection volumes against total volumes of WEEE collected last year (2024) we can see that there was an increase across all streams, apart from Display Equipment (Category 11) and Gas Discharge Lamps (Category 13).

Overall, the total WEEE collection volumes appear to be increasing over recent years; 2025 WEEE collection volumes are the highest since 2017.

The charts below compare the volumes of WEEE collected for each stream over the last four years (2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025), and as demonstrated, collections across most streams have increased in 2025.

Outlook for the compliance year

Throughout 2025, WEEE collection volumes have shown that some categories were falling short of the 2025 collections targets, including Display Equipment (Category 11), Small Mixed WEEE (Categories 2-10) and Gas Discharge Lamps (Category 13). The Q4 2025 volumes have now confirmed that these streams have not met the 2025 targets.

Large Household Appliances (Category 1), Cooling Appliances (Category 12), and especially Photovoltaic Panels (Category 14) have all achieved the 2025 targets by some margin.

Collection targets for 2026

Defra have shared their proposed collection targets for 2026 with stakeholders for a short consultation.

Targets are set for each stream of WEEE to try and anticipate the amount of WEEE likely to arise during the compliance year and which will be funded by producers through their membership of a compliance scheme. As with setting recent collection targets, Defra’s approach to setting the 2026 targets was to use the growth rate in WEEE collections over a 3-year period (an average of the growth rate between 2022/23 and 2024/25). Variations to this growth rate were then made for individual streams based on specific considerations and data.

ERP UK prepared its own analysis and made a detailed response to the consultation.  We consider that the additional increases above the growth rate proposed for both Cooling Appliances (Category 12) and Photovoltaic Panels (Category 14) targets were too ambitious, even though the 2025 collection volumes for these streams were in surplus of their 2025 targets.

The 2026 collection targets will also include a target for the new category 15 (Vapes & E-Cigarettes) for the first time. ERP UK appreciates that setting a target for a new category with very limited historical data is hard, but the proposed approach (which applied the average return rate for all categories of small mixed WEEE to vapes) we consider this to be too high based on data sets that are available.

Final targets will be confirmed by DEFRA by the end of March. We will receive our scheme targets for 2026 from the Environment Agency in early April based on the 2025 POM market share of our 2026 members in each category. Invoices for Q2 and onwards will be based on these.

Author Steve Smith, Compliance & Quality Manager, ERP UK

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