Summary

Electrical waste is one of the fastest increasing waste streams in the UK and throughout the world, with abandoned or hoarded household electrical projected to cost the UK economy over £370 million per year in lost precious raw materials such as gold, copper, aluminium, and steel. According to the Environmental Audit Committee's research, the UK is one of the world's leading manufacturers of e-waste, with 23.9kg of e-waste created per person on average - that's over a third of an adult's average body weight of 70.8 kg. E-waste is any abandoned electrical or electronic equipment. This covers both functional and damaged things that are discarded or donated to a charity reseller such as Goodwill. If an item remains unsold at a store, it is frequently discarded. Toxic compounds naturally leak from the metals within when e-waste is buried, making it especially harmful.

According to the research report “United Kingdom E-Waste Management Market Overview, 2028," published by Bonafide Research, the market is expected to add USD 1.03 Billion in the upcoming period, 2023–2028. Based on the source type the market are Household Appliances which include Air conditioners, dishwashers, and induction cookers, etc. Consumer Electronics includes Mobile Devices, Wearable, TVs, Set Top Boxes, Monitors, Laptops, Tablets, Computers, Printers, Scanners, etc. Industrial Electronics includes IT & Telecom Equipment, IT Accessories, PCBs, Digital Boards, Datacenters, Medical Equipment and Accessories, etc. Household sectors dominate the market since electronic gadgets are needed for almost all household tasks such as cleaning and cooking. Based on the material type such as Metal, Plastic, Glass, and others. Metal material is highly generated from e-waste in UK since e-waste contains numerous valuable, recoverable materials such as aluminum, ferrous metals, copper, gold, and silver. Electronic equipment should be reconditioned, reused, and recycled wherever feasible to preserve natural resources and the energy required to manufacture new electronic equipment from virgin materials. Based on application type there are Trashed and recycled. Recycling e-waste serves a variety of applications. For example, keep such gadgets out of landfills to safeguard human and environmental health. Or retrieving valuable pieces from gadgets and giving manufacturers with recycled metals that may be utilized to construct new goods.

In just the first six months of 2021, the United Kingdom generated 148,134.09 tonnes of e-waste, the equivalent of 15 Eiffel Towers. By 2023, the UK will compete with Norway, the current global leader in e-waste output; by 2024, the UK will be the largest e-waste producer in Europe per capita. According to the study, the UK generated 1.6 million tonnes of e-waste in 2019, which equates to around 23.9kg of rubbish per person, with the global amount estimated to be around 53.6 million tonnes. According to the study, the quantity of garbage per person would rise to 24.5kg by 2024, whereas Norway's number will fall to 23.9kg. With just 2.5 to 10% of electronics in the UK now being reused, Spring is lobbying for the repair and reuse of pre-loved items, as well as the recycling of Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Spring has begun deploying 'kiosk-style pods' around the country to aid this transition, allowing people to sell their gadgets to third-party sellers once they have been fixed and resold. The initiative has already been implemented in Co-op shops throughout the country, and the business plans to add 250 more pods over the next year, with the ultimate goal of recirculating 100,000 gadgets yearly.

WEEE recycling is also becoming a feasible alternative to dumping e-waste into the main trash stream due to advancements in extraction technology. A recent collaboration between the Royal Mint and Excir saw the trialling of technologies aimed to collect and recycle valuable metals from abandoned gadgets that were previously lost to waste. When both recycling rates and consumer attitudes were considered, Newport in Wales was shown to be the best UK city for recycling. It sends more than two-thirds (67%) of its household garbage for reuse, recycling, or composting, compared to the national average of 41%. The United Kingdom is presently one of the world's leading manufacturers of domestic e-waste. Toxic chemicals are released when damaged or unneeded electronics are disposed of in landfill toxic substances like lead and mercury can leach into soil and water.
The UK government set out last year (2021) to restructure the recycling system in England in order to increase recycling rates. The government's aims for improved recycling rates, increased resource efficiency, and a more circular economy in England are outlined in the 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy. Defra said it aims to make recycling easier and provide a comprehensive, uniform service across England to do this. As part of the Resources and Waste Strategy, Defra implemented three significant measures aimed at increasing recycling rates: increasing the regularity of residential and commercial recycling pickups in England In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, there is a Deposit Return Scheme for beverage containers. Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging is revamping the UK packaging producer responsibility system. So far, the United Kingdom has imposed a plastic packaging tax on any packaging that contains less than 30% recycled plastic, as well as a ban on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products and measures to limit the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds. In the United Kingdom, the rate of recycling and reuse of discarded electrical and electronic equipment was 31.2% in 2021.

The key players operating in the WEEE waste recycling market in the UK ar SUEZ, Veolia, Sims Metal Management Limited, Ragn- Sell Group, REMONDIS SE & Co. KG, Kuusakoski, Fortum, Marius Pedersen a.s, Norsk Gjenvinning Norge AS, and SCHOLZ RECYCLING GMBH.

Considered in this report
• Geography: UK
• Historic year: 2017
• Base year: 2022
• Estimated year: 2023
• Forecast year: 2028

Aspects covered in this report
• UK E-Waste market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Application Type
• Trashed
• Recycled

By Material Type
• Metal
• Plastic
• Glass
• Others

By Source Type
• Household Appliances
• Consumer Electronic
• Industrial Electronic

The approach of the report:
This report consists of a combined approach of primary as well as secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and listing out the companies that are present in the market. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, annual report of companies, analysing the government generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources primary research was conducted by making telephonic interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducted trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this we have started doing primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting consumers in regional aspects, tier aspects, age group, and gender. Once we have primary data with us we have started verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience
This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to E-Waste Management market, government bodies and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.