119,654 tonnes of discarded e-appliances and light bulbs
No new record for collection, but a good increase in reuse.
In 2022, the average Belgian brought in 10.33 kg of discarded e-appliances or light bulbs. That is a fall of 6.9% compared to 2021. During Covid, we saw consecutive records in collection figures. At the time, people were at home a lot more, so they cleared up or replaced more appliances, devices and light bulbs. That effect is now subsiding. In its place has come a general feeling of uncertainty due to the war in Ukraine, rising energy prices and economic decline. That probably reinforces that old tendency of keeping discarded devices “just in case”.
We did, however, collect more cold storage appliances. That is important because appliances such as fridges and freezers contain substances that are harmful to the environment. This is why we devoted special attention to their collection and proper disposal. Good progress is being made here.
collected in 2022
A drop of 6.9%
Examining the volume (in tonnes) by category, we see:
Large white goods (e.g. washing machines)
Fridges and freezers
Light bulbs
Other (from mobile phones to lawnmowers)
Smoke detectors
Televisions & monitors
Professional equipment
A fall of 0.7% compared to 2021.
collected in 2022
A decline of 0.7%
Examining each category in units, we see:
Large white goods (e.g. washing machines)
Fridges and freezers
Light bulbs
Other (from mobile phones to lawnmowers)
Smoke detectors
Televisions & monitors
We calculate the collection percentage by comparing the quantity of new electrical and electronic appliances that come on the market with the quantity that is collected again. The figures come from those involved in the entire e-waste chain, who report how many appliances they bring on the market, collect or dispose of, and what their destination is. Declarations are done via Recupel or the reporting platform BeWeee. For 2021, for the whole of Belgium this came to 166,553 tonnes of discarded electrical and electronic appliances, of which 38,087 tonnes were reported directly via BeWeee.
The collection percentage for 2021 was 57.4%. That is a rise of 23% compared to 2017. We are therefore not yet at the European objective of 65%, but we are continuing to make progress, especially if we consider that increasing numbers of appliances are coming onto the market, which makes the challenge ever greater.
There are no results yet for 2022. These will be made available on the BeWeee website in autumn 2023.
*Figures do not include solar panels: those don’t come under Recupel but under PV Cycle.
The reuse figure is up compared to 2021. This is good news for several reasons. By giving discarded devices a new lease of life, we save a lot of energy and raw materials. Reuse also provides an affordable option for people with low incomes. And it creates jobs, especially for people without access to the regular employment market. There is a whole network around reuse, but the highlights of 2022 were undoubtedly the second-hand shops and reuse centres, with a million kilograms more reuse than last year. This brings us to a grand total of 3,818,805 kilograms reuse in 2022!
BELGIUM - ELECTRO SOFIE
In 2022, reuse through second-hand stores and reuse centres grew by almost 1 million kilograms compared to 2021. This was a very strong result.
We use charter collectors to collect devices and appliances. A number of them, such as Out of Use and CTG, even organise reuse for the devices and appliances collected. Over the past year, they gave half a million kilos of devices and appliances a new home.
The producers and sellers of electrical and electronic appliances are also supporting reuse. In 2022, Recupel members brought 740,816 kilograms of discarded and returned devices into circulation again.
This is a rise of 1% compared to 2021. Our processors recycled 82.3% of collected appliances, devices and light bulbs into useful raw materials. We recovered 1.5% to support other processes, and another 10.9% were combusted to generate energy.
Per category:
Recycling parks complete the circle in a circular economy. In Belgium we have a total of 544.
Shops that sell electrical and electronic appliances have a legal obligation to accept comparable appliances from clients for processing. They can register as a collection point for this. In 2022, you could choose from 11,675 collection points, right across Belgium. Of these, 2,983 also have a RecyclePoint: a handy container for collecting small electrical and electronic appliances, and light bulbs.
A reuse centre makes discarded devices ready for sale in a second-hand shop, including by making repairs where necessary. In 2022, we worked with 35 reuse centres.
In 2022, we could rely on a network of 88 "charter operators", including 75 charter collectors and 13 charter processors. You can also go to a "charter operator" as an individual or a company to drop off your electrical and electronic appliances or to have them collected.