The hidden WEEE problem: A national visibility gap
ReLondon’s latest electricals and electronics footprint report shows that too much electrical waste remains invisible.
In 2024, London consumed 255,600 tonnes of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE). That same year, 134,500 tonnes were discarded, but less than half went through formal collection routes with 70,700 tonnes moving through non-official routes and 62.3% of that ending up in residual waste.
Some Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) that is not visible may have gone to scrap metal routes, informal reuse, illegal export, or even to an electrical recycler. But unless that route is certified by the Environment Agency and able to raise evidence, it remains invisible within the formal WEEE system. This matters because as recycling targets rise year on year and formal capture does not increase alongside those targets, the sector risks either struggling to meet them or already meeting them in practice without the evidence needed to prove it. The fact that modelling is needed to estimate what is happening outside formal routes shows how blind the industry is!
Reuse and repair are not side issues
One of the report’s most striking findings is that around one quarter of London’s discarded EEE in 2024 was in reusable or repairable condition. If rehomed, those items could meet close to 10% of London’s demand for new electricals. That shifts the question from “How do we recycle more?” to “How do we keep products in use for longer?” or “How do we encourage re-use?”. Recycling still matters, but reuse and repair can deliver greater circular economy value. The challenge now is how we can funnel more WEEE into Authorised and Approved Treatment Facilities (AATFs) that are able to prioritise these outcomes.
The carbon case highlights why WEEE reform is needed
ReLondon also makes clear that electricals are not just a waste issue. London’s electricals carbon footprint, excluding the use phase, was 9.1m tonnes CO2e across households and non-households. Household EEE alone generated 5.9m tonnes CO2e in 2024, equivalent to powering around 2.1m homes for a year.
Much of that impact is already locked in before a product reaches the user. Better collection and recycling are essential, but they cannot undo the impact of short product lifetimes, avoidable returns, unused stock, or missed reuse opportunities. The question is, will this impact WEEE reform and bring wider sustainability of electricals into the regulations?
Stockpiling: another form of lost visibility?
London households are also buying more electricals than they dispose of. The average household buys around 58kg of new electricals each year but gets rid of only around 30kg. Between 2023 and 2024, the amount of electrical and electronic items in London homes grew by 4.4%, with an estimated 700kg now sitting in the average home. The same issue can exist in businesses while disposal routes remain unclear, data security concerns remain, and there is still no obvious collection trigger. Even this week, one of our Beyondly team members had no way of getting rid of a broken lamp within 10 miles of their home. These hidden stocks are missed opportunities for reuse, repair, recycling, and evidence generation.
London is the case study, but not the whole picture
The figures are London-specific and should not be treated as representative of the whole UK. London has its own population density, business profile, local authority systems, reuse infrastructure, and waste routes. A UK-wide view would help show whether London is typical, better served, or facing different pressures than the rest of the country.
The real opportunity is bigger than collecting more WEEE. It is making more electricals visible, evidenced and correctly managed alongside making sure products are used, reused, and repaired before they reach the recycling stage.
Source: Report – London’s electricals and electronics footprint
