Last year, an average of 0.8 kilos less was collected per Belgian, to 10.3 kilos per inhabitant. Recupel, which is responsible for the collection and processing of the appliances, explains the decrease after two record years due to the corona period. “Back then, people were often at home and more appliances were bought, replaced and cleaned up. That effect disappeared in 2022.” The economic uncertainty and the war in Ukraine also reinforce the trend to “hoard” stuff, it sounds.
Nevertheless, the organization calls on us to continue to bring in unused devices. “There are still about 50 million of them lying around in Belgian homes. That is of no use to anyone, we ensure that they get a new life,” says Recupel. If the appliances can no longer be repaired, the parts are recycled.
Last year, the most important collection channel remained the container park (market share of 53.6 percent), followed by the distribution sector (22.9 percent), charter collectors (14.4 percent) and recycling shops (9.1 percent).
Recupel notes that the collection figures will rise again in the first months of 2023, but believes it is still too early to speak of a structural improvement.