Electronic Equipment: Recycling

(asked on 9th April 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many tonnes of electronic waste were recycled in each year in the UK since 2010.


Answered by
Thérèse Coffey Portrait
Thérèse Coffey
This question was answered on 15th April 2019

Year

Amount of obligated WEEE received for treatment at AATFs (tonnes)

Amount of non-obligated WEEE received at AATFs for treatment (tonnes)

Total (tonnes)

2010

486,403.968

77,426.524

563,830.492

2011

505,398.630

74,667.937

580,066.567

2012

501,050.257

158,319.669

659,369.926

2013

494,407.835

184,834.761

679,242.596

2014

509,809.170

134,811.069

644,620.239

2015

529,058.633

132,069.321

661,127.954

2016

592,428.047

126,999.022

719,427.069

2017

534,582.034

118,592.058

653,174.092

2018

501,885.359

61,409.832

563,295.191

The above table details the quantity of UK electronic waste received at Approved Authorised Treatment facilities for treatment and subsequent recycling for the period 2010 to 2018. This data only reflects electronic waste received at sites which have been approved as part of the WEEE regulations to issue WEEE evidence in support of the financial obligations placed on EEE producers.

There are other waste operators, who will hold a permit issued under the Environmental Permitting regulations who will also be treating and recycling WEEE delivered to them outside of the WEEE producer Responsibility system. Such operators are not required under their data reporting requirement to provide specific WEEE data.

Defra make a substantiated estimate on this additional WEEE treated and recycled, when reporting the UK position to the EU. The substantiated estimate is for an additional 270,000 tonnes per annum of WEEE being treated and recycled in addition to amounts detailed in the above table.

Reticulating Splines