UK pushes harder on e-waste reforms
February 20, 2025
Government, industry, and consumers unite to drive ambitious action on electronic waste and recycling.
Britain is accelerating its drive towards a more sustainable electronics sector, with a combination of government reforms, private sector initiatives, and growing consumer demand pushing electronic waste (e-waste) up the political and commercial agenda.
The government has announced plans to place greater responsibility on online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay to contribute more towards the cost of recycling discarded electronics. This move, unveiled in December 2024, is intended to create a fairer system, ensuring that digital platforms bear the same obligations as traditional retailers when it comes to financing e-waste recycling. The reform is expected to be introduced later this year.
The regulatory tightening extends to the export of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). From January 2025, all WEEE shipments to EU and OECD countries will require stricter notification processes to ensure compliant processing and reduce the risk of waste being dumped illegally. Further bolstering these efforts, the government will also ban single-use vapes from June 2025, addressing a rapidly growing environmental concern, with an estimated one million devices currently discarded every day in the UK.
Private sector actors are also advancing the e-waste agenda. In September 2024, the Royal Mint opened a state-of-the-art facility in Llantrisant, Wales, dedicated to extracting precious metals such as gold and silver from discarded circuit boards. Capable of processing up to 4,000 tonnes annually, the facility marks a significant step in promoting urban mining as a sustainable source of valuable materials. In a symbolic twist, the new plant has been framed as a return of gold mining to Wales—though not as it was once known. Rather than panning streams or digging into hillsides, this modern extraction process sees gold retrieved from discarded electronics, underscoring the value of e-waste as an urban resource.
Retailer Currys has urged the government to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) on refurbished electronics to encourage consumers to opt for second-hand devices instead of new purchases. Alex Baldock, CEO of Currys, argued that such a tax cut would lower prices for consumers and reduce the volume of electronic products being discarded. He noted that VAT had already been paid when the products were first purchased, making its reapplication on refurbished goods an unnecessary barrier to circularity.
Currys has also partnered with Deloitte on a national recycling campaign aimed at encouraging Deloitte’s 25,000 UK employees to recycle their unwanted tech devices. The initiative promotes both digital inclusion and e-waste reduction, underlining the need for collaboration between corporations and consumers to address the e-waste challenge.
Consumer attitudes appear to be shifting. A June 2024 survey by Trojan Electronics found that 82% of Britons believe they have a role to play in reducing e-waste, with 74% willing to recycle their unused electrical products. Public support is growing for more transparency, with 91% of those surveyed backing an environmental traffic-light labelling system to rate the sustainability credentials of electronics manufacturers.
Industry insiders have expressed both optimism and caution. The UK Cartridge Remanufacturers Association (UKCRA) has raised concerns over Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations potentially undermining cartridge reuse efforts. UKCRA argues that current definitions of ‘waste’ discourage remanufacturing and are calling for clearer legislation to support reuse initiatives. Similarly, upcoming changes to the WEEE system, taking effect from January 2025, will place greater compliance responsibilities on UK importers, raising questions about their readiness for these new obligations.
Taken together, these developments suggest that momentum is building towards a more circular approach to electronics in the UK. However, challenges remain. Repair costs continue to deter consumers from fixing broken devices, and some manufacturers have been slow to embrace repairability and modular design.
For now, the message from Westminster, business leaders, and consumers is increasingly aligned: tackling e-waste is a shared responsibility. Whether the combination of regulatory action, corporate innovation, and public support will be enough to achieve lasting change remains to be seen.
Categories : World Focus
Tags : E-waste Government UK UKCRA WEEE
