Louise Grantham, chief executive, REPIC, responds to the Q3 WEEE data published on 1st December:
“Following the significant fall in household WEEE collections seen in quarter two, which was due to many collection points either being temporarily closed or collection activities being otherwise restricted during the nationwide lockdown, in Q3 they have largely recovered to the levels seen in Q1. There is some evidence of a catch up in collections in some categories during Q3, for instance in Cooling, however with the exception of two categories, collections remain below the pro-rata 2020 targets. With further national restrictions being in place during Q4, it seems unlikely that 2020 targets will be met for most categories. It also seems possible that WEEE collections will continue to be disrupted into 2021.
“Conversely, household EEE POM has increased in most categories this year when compared to 2019, most likely due to changes in consumer spending habits resulting from the impact of Covid-19. Setting targets for 2021 in these circumstances will be challenging, and where we can it will be important to provide Defra with information to support this process.”
