Contents
- Appliance recycling statistics: Japan’s appliance recycling rates
- Appliance recycling statistics: Japan’s appliance collection totals
- Appliance recycling statistics: Refrigerant recovery in Japan
- Appliance recycling statistics: Large equipment and WEEE collection
- Appliance recycling statistics: Appliance reuse findings from a UK inspection
- Sources
Appliance recycling statistics: Japan’s appliance recycling rates
Japan’s Ministry of the Environment reports manufacturer recycling rates under the country’s home-appliance recycling system for Japanese fiscal year 2024 (R6). The rate is calculated as recycled weight divided by treated weight. It is therefore a weight-based measure of material recycling in the covered manufacturer process, rather than the share of appliances collected that were recycled. Japan Ministry of the Environment, FY2024 data
| Appliance category | FY2024 recycling rate |
|---|---|
| Air conditioners | 93% |
| CRT televisions | 72% |
| LCD, OLED and plasma televisions | 85% |
| Refrigerators and freezers | 80% |
| Washing machines and clothes dryers | 93% |
The reported rates span 72% to 93% across these five categories. Air conditioners and washing machines/clothes dryers each had a rate of 93%; CRT televisions were at 72%. The two television groupings are reported separately: the LCD, OLED and plasma category was 85%, while CRT televisions were 72%. The figures describe manufacturer processing for products covered by Japan’s system in FY2024. They do not establish a rate for every discarded appliance in Japan, including items outside that process. Japan Ministry of the Environment, FY2024 data
The denominator matters when comparing these numbers with collection rates or reuse findings. A recycling rate based on treated weight does not count units in the same way as a collection total, and it does not report how many products were still usable. Japan’s five percentages are best read as material-recycling measures by product type, on the source’s stated basis. Japan Ministry of the Environment, FY2024 data
Appliance recycling statistics: Japan’s appliance collection totals
The same Ministry presentation reports units received at designated collection sites in thousands. For FY2024, the chart separates air conditioners, refrigerators/freezers, washing machines/clothes dryers, LCD/OLED/plasma televisions and CRT televisions. Japan Ministry of the Environment, FY2024 data
| Product category received at designated sites | FY2024 collection (thousand units) |
|---|---|
| Air conditioners | 3,961 |
| Refrigerators and freezers | 3,228 |
| Washing machines and clothes dryers | 3,153 |
| LCD, OLED and plasma televisions | 3,780 |
| CRT televisions | 1,039 |
These are collection units, not tonnes and not recycling rates. Air conditioners had 3,961 thousand units received, the largest of the listed product categories; CRT televisions had 1,039 thousand. The chart’s separation of CRT and newer television technologies also makes clear that the total for one television group should not be substituted for the other. Japan Ministry of the Environment, FY2024 data
The collection totals and recycling percentages answer different questions. Collection counts report how many items entered designated take-back sites, while the rates in the prior section compare recycled weight with processed weight. The units and denominators differ, so the values should not be combined into a derived estimate of material recovered per collected appliance. The source covers the four-product home-appliance system and reports its television subcategories separately. Japan Ministry of the Environment, FY2024 data
Appliance recycling statistics: Refrigerant recovery in Japan
Japan’s FY2024 manufacturer data also describe recovered fluorocarbons by product and material location. The Ministry reports approximate recovery weights for refrigerants and, for refrigerators/freezers, fluorocarbons in insulation material. It additionally reports average air-conditioner refrigerant recovery per unit. Japan Ministry of the Environment, FY2024 data
| Recovered material | FY2024 amount |
|---|---|
| Air-conditioner refrigerant fluorocarbons | Approximately 2,583 tonnes |
| Refrigerator/freezer refrigerant fluorocarbons | Approximately 95 tonnes |
| Washing-machine/clothes-dryer refrigerant fluorocarbons | Approximately 37.7 tonnes |
| Refrigerator/freezer insulation-material fluorocarbons | Approximately 164 tonnes |
The source distinguishes refrigerant from insulation-material fluorocarbons. The 164 tonnes attributed to refrigerator/freezer insulation material is not part of the refrigerant figure of approximately 95 tonnes in the table; each is a separate reported stream. The amounts are approximate recovery weights under the manufacturers’ program for FY2024. Japan Ministry of the Environment, FY2024 data
For air conditioners, the source gives an additional per-unit measure: recovered refrigerant averaged 667 grams per unit in FY2024. This measure is expressed in grams per air conditioner, unlike the total recovery weights expressed in tonnes. It provides a different view of recovery activity, but the supplied data do not support extending that average to other product types. Japan Ministry of the Environment, FY2024 data
The distinctions in units and material types are useful when interpreting appliance recycling statistics. A total in tonnes describes recovered mass across the reported stream; grams per unit describes an average for air conditioners. Neither is itself a recycling rate, and neither indicates the total amount of refrigerant originally present in all products collected. Japan Ministry of the Environment, FY2024 data
Appliance recycling statistics: Large equipment and WEEE collection
Ireland’s 2024 WEEE statistics include a category for large equipment, defined as equipment with any external dimension greater than 50 cm. The category is broader than household appliances: it includes equipment over that size threshold and cannot be interpreted as an appliance-only total. Ireland separately collected 35,032 tonnes in this category. Ireland EPA, WEEE Statistics
For large equipment, Ireland reported a 92% recovery rate and an 85% preparation-for-reuse and recycling rate in 2024. These are two different reported measures for the WEEE category. Recovery is not interchangeable with preparation for reuse and recycling; the latter combines preparation for reuse with recycling as named in the EPA table. Neither percentage is specific to household appliances alone. Ireland EPA, WEEE Statistics
Across all WEEE collected for treatment in Ireland in 2024, the total was 65,523 tonnes. Of this, 54,027 tonnes came from private households (B2C), while 11,496 tonnes came from other sources such as businesses (B2B). These source groupings apply to all WEEE in the collection narrative, not only large equipment. Ireland EPA, WEEE Statistics
Ireland’s overall WEEE collection rate was 41.5% in 2024. The EPA defines the rate as WEEE collected divided by the average electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market during the previous 3 years. This denominator makes the rate a system-level collection measure; it is not a large-equipment recycling rate or a measure of the share of household appliances recycled. Ireland EPA, WEEE Statistics
Appliance recycling statistics: Appliance reuse findings from a UK inspection
A UK inspection examined 100 domestic cold appliances obtained from a recycling centre. The inspection took place in January–February 2015, and its findings describe that sample rather than the national appliance population. Of the 100 inspected units, 28 were considered suitable for reuse with little or no remedial work. Inspection of 100 appliances due for recycling
Within those 28 units, 13 had no obvious faults. Another 15 had a minor fault, such as a missing or damaged drawer or shelf, and were still considered suitable for reuse. The report’s distinction shows that its reuse assessment included appliances with limited defects as well as those without obvious faults. It does not establish that the same proportions apply at other recycling centres or in other years. Inspection of 100 appliances due for recycling
The sample comprised 50 fridge-freezers, 22 freezers, 22 larder fridges and 6 fridges with ice-boxes. These counts describe the make-up of the inspected group; they are not estimates of the product mix among all discarded UK appliances. Inspection of 100 appliances due for recycling
Testing also found that 34 appliances did not cool. That result is specific to the 100 domestic cold appliances examined in the inspection. Read alongside the reuse assessment, it indicates that cooling performance was a recorded failure measure, while suitability for reuse was a separate overall judgment. The report does not support treating all units that did not cool as a national failure rate or assuming a cause for the results. Inspection of 100 appliances due for recycling
Together, the UK inspection findings describe a narrow but practical question in appliance recycling: some units arriving at a recycling centre were judged reusable, including units with minor faults, while others failed a cooling test. Because the sample contained 100 units from one inspection conducted in 2015, its findings are useful as a sample-level account of reuse assessment, not a current national statistic. Inspection of 100 appliances due for recycling