Small WEEE (sWEEE) is a growing waste stream within the UK. We have pulled together some facts around sWEEE collections from unitary authorities using the very useful RED system. Around a quarter of all authorities offer a separate kerbside collection of sWEEE, this may be through a bookable collection or a clear plastic bag placed with the recycling.

According to Material Focus, the amount of small electricals put onto the market in the UK amounts to around 533,069 tonnes in 2024, equating to around 7.7 kg per person annually. The amount of small electrical items placed on the UK market can be seen in the table below:

The sWEEE discarded within the UK amounts to around ~54% of the equivalent of what is placed on the market[2] . We wanted to look at good practice in recovery of small waste electricals via Council collection systems, and reviewed Unitary Authorities which had both kerbside collections and collections via Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) of sWEEE. The average weight collected from these unitary authorities has risen from 462t to 760 tonnes of sWEEE, rising each year across the study period. Of this sWEEE collected, an average of 8% is collected from kerbside and the remaining 92% is from HWRC small WEEE collection points (other collection sources are not included in this study).

The infographic above shows the current process of recycling and disposal for Councils with both kerbside collection and separate collection bays at HWRCs for sWEEE.

The average 7.7kg/pp of small electricals that is placed on the market each year, some of this is kept in use, some might be reused / donated etc. and the net householder behaviour is to throw away c. 4.2kg/pp per annum which may be captured in disposal or recycling schemes. Where good practice collection systems are in place the data suggests around 50% of the sWEEE is likely to be captured – noting this is derived from a combination of national and local datasets. In most cases there will be less recycling than this as, for example, only around a quarter of Councils have a dedicated sWEEE kerbside collections at present.

Frith Resource Management are experts in municipal waste management services and have worked on various collection, reuse, recycling and waste treatment projects for 150 Councils. More details at www.frithrm.com email beth@frithrm.com or call 01746 552423.

[1] Based on Estimates of the population for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland Estimates of the population for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland - Office for National Statistics

[2] Based on WRAP National Waste Composition Data, 2017.