Defra publish proposed 2026 Household WEEE collection targets
Defra have published proposed household WEEE collection targets for 2026 and is inviting input from stakeholders in the WEEE supply chain. Any comments or evidence can be submitted via email to [email protected] by Friday, 27th February 2026. These will be collated and submitted on your behalf to Defra, or you can email Defra directly at [email protected] by 4pm on 3rd March 2026 and please copy in Beyondly.
The provisional UK household WEEE collection target for 2026 is 550,902 tonnes up from 517,285 in 2025 (4.64% increase).
The targets Defra set are drawn together based on historical data and market insights as an indicator of the WEEE that is likely to be available for collection in 2026.
The 2026 proposed target is set higher than the actual 2025 collection levels.
Setting the collection targets
DEFRA use a baseline approach that considers growth in collections over a three-year period, using an average growth rate between 2022/23 and 2024/25. This sets a baseline target for 2026.
Category-specific adjustments were then made based on market conditions. The amendments result in a target of 550,902 tonnes which DEFRA believes is a more accurate reflection of what WEEE will arise in 2026.
Defra Analysis by category
Category 1: Large Household Appliances (LHA)
Under the baseline methodology, the 3-year trend analysis resulted in a target of 186,167 tonnes, which is 3.18% above the 2025 collection level of 180,428 tonnes.
Unlike other categories of WEEE, LHA is generally recognised as a “value” waste stream rather than a cost stream. It is therefore the case that, irrespective of whether such waste is collected and processed under the WEEE Regulations or as part of the scrap metal waste stream it will be collected for recycling rather than going to landfill or incineration. It does not get fly-tipped for the same reason. Trend shows there is a strong relationship between scrap metal prices and the volumes of LHA waste arising in the formal WEEE system. A high scrap metal price corresponds to a lower collection rate, as there is a greater incentive for scrap traders to acquire waste LHA.
Early indications from the scrap metal market in 2026 suggest price levels are largely consistent with last year and there is no evidence to indicate that the collection level for LHA will fall below 2025 levels. As such, Defra consider that the 3-year baseline approach is appropriate.
Categories 2-10: Small Mixed WEEE (SMW)
Under the baseline methodology, the 3-year trend analysis results in an average growth rate of 5.98%. Applying this growth rate to the 2025 collection levels gives a 2026 target of 157,026. However, there are several factors that support a higher uplift beyond the 3-year trend. There is a rising trend in the tonnage of collections in recent years with actual collection rates being above the set collection targets – taking into account the evidence lost from the system last year, Defra believe this trend continued in 2025. Defra believe this can at least in part be attributed to the significant awareness campaigns run by Material Focus over the past 3 years positively influencing householder disposal and recycling behaviours leading to more material being properly recycled. To reflect this trend an additional uplift of 1.5% on top of the 3-year trend average has been applied.
For these reasons, the baseline methodology plus 1.5% has been applied to SMW, with a 5.96% uplift for all categories of SMW compared with 2025 collections. This gives an overall target of 159,542 for all categories of SMW. However, as a separate target for vapes has been added for the second half of 2026, this tonnage has been subtracted from the overall SMW target that it would have previously been part of. This results in a target of 159,248 tonnes.
Category 11: Display Equipment
Display equipment saw declining collections from 2012 through to 2020 due to the decreased weight of new display equipment. However, since 2021 collection levels have generally seen annual increases, perhaps indicating that the trend of declining weights of new products is reversing.
However, last year a more ambitious uplift of 5.92% meant the target was missed by 5,329 tonnes. This may well be countered this year by the World Cup, where historically we have seen a spike in sales of new TVs and the disposal of old ones for major sporting events. As such, Defra propose taking a balanced approach and maintaining the 3-year baseline resulting in an uplift of 4.63%, to 48,443 tonnes.
Category 12: Cooling
Applying the baseline methodology to cooling collections data would suggest a 2026 target of 150,718 tonnes, a 2.93% increase from the 2025 collections. Defra believe this reflects the trend of collections moderately rising year-on-year since the pandemic. For this reason, Defra propose that the three-year baseline methodology should be maintained.
Category 13: Lamps
Since legislation was introduced to phase out mercury-containing lamps, there has been a gradual shift from fluorescent to LED. These lamps last longer, use less energy, and do not contain mercury, and a consequence of phasing out mercury lamps in their favour is that category 13 tonnages are declining. However, due to the ease of disposing of lamps in residual waste, Defra do want to maintain a level of ambition to ensure the remaining lamps are disposed of correctly. Applying the 3-year baseline methodology to the lamps collection data suggests that the 2026 target should be a 5.21% decrease on the 2025 collection tonnage. This leads to a target of 3,270 tonnes.
Category 14: Photovoltaic Panels
Historically the volume of PV panels collected has been very small relative to most other categories. However, as their installation and subsequent replacements and disposals have increased, so too have collection rates, albeit in an irregular manner. Applying the baseline methodology of average 3-year growth trend results in a 2026 target of 2,761 tonnes, a 63.92% uplift from 2025 collections. This target is significantly higher than in previous years and reflects the fact that we are seeing the first generation of solar panels now emerging as waste – this is only going to increase and so the target and infrastructure needed to manage these products will need to grow to ensure these products are managed responsibly. Thus, Defra believe that this ambitious target strikes a balance between the almost quadrupling in collected material between 2024 and 2025, and the historically unpredictable collection rates.
Category 15: Vapes
n.b. Category 15 is sometimes referred to as Category 7a
This is the first time Defra are setting a target for vapes, and as the requirement to report collection data for these products does not start until August 2026, Defra do not have historic data on which to base collection targets. As such, Defra have used the overall collection target for Small Mixed WEEE (of which vapes continue to be a part until 11th August) and calculated the proportion of the target in relation to placed on the market data for Small Mixed WEEE – overall this is 30%. Defra have then taken this figure and applied it to the placed on the market data for vapes submitted since 12th August 2025. This creates a collection target of 294 tonnes which will need to be collected and evidence notes issued from the 15th August 2026. As Defra collect waste data going forwards they will be able to set a more accurate target, but believe this initial methodology strikes a balance between the need to correctly manage as many waste vapes as possible to retain the critical materials contained within and reduce waste fires, and the practical reality that many vapes still do not enter the WEEE system because they are littered or put in residual waste.
