Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK, growing by at least 5% each year. We dispose of over 1.2 million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste every year in the UK from the public alone, an amount that would fill the new Wembley 6 times over every year! The average UK citizen will discard of 3.3 tonnes of WEEE in a life time – equal to one Double Decker bus for each and every family. Electronic waste is increasing three times faster than average municipal waste and the EU estimates that WEEE currently accounts for 4% of total waste.
Much of the UK's electronic waste ends up in landfill sites, where toxins put communities at risk. Failure to segregate any type of recyclable material in the home will usually result in items being disposed of in a landfill site (buried in the ground in the UK) or being incinerated. It has been estimated that landfill space in the UK will run out within the next 10 years. Recycling WEEE will have significant effects on the environment.
Where WEEE is not recycled, this waste can have negative impacts on soil, air and water quality which can lead to environmental damage, and which can also lead to negative impacts on human health and animal health.
To find out more about the 'crossed out wheeled bin' symbol on electrical items, please click here.
To learn how we handle our take back responsibilities, please click here.
Print this page
Much of the UK's electronic waste ends up in landfill sites, where toxins put communities at risk. Failure to segregate any type of recyclable material in the home will usually result in items being disposed of in a landfill site (buried in the ground in the UK) or being incinerated. It has been estimated that landfill space in the UK will run out within the next 10 years. Recycling WEEE will have significant effects on the environment.