Illegal WEEE recycling & exporting

Fierce competition between producer compliance schemes for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is at the core of the illegal e-waste exports scandal, according to a leading WEEE recycler.

The UK has 36 producer compliance schemes, more than any other EU country. Such a large number has created a highly competitive environment where schemes try to undercut each other to secure business, says Sims Recycling Solutions.

Sims believes these cost pressures have undermined the legitimate recycling market for WEEE and created an incentive for illegal trade। The company also feels that many compliance schemes are not auditing their supply chains robustly enough to weed out cowboy operators.

Speaking exclusively to edie, Sims' group marketing manager, Myles Pilkington, said that waste producers should not just take their compliance scheme's word that duty of care is being carried out, but demand to see the evidence.

He added that in Sims' experience, only a few of the schemes have demonstrated any desire to audit their supply chain effectively.

Last month the issue of illegal e-waste exports came to the fore in a BBC Panorama programme 'Track my trash' that highlighted the huge amount of 'missing' WEEE unaccounted for.

The documentary was shown in the wake of a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency which highlighted a number of issues that need to be addressed if the problem of illegal exports is to be tackled effectively.

What is WEEE?

You will often hear WEEE discused in relation to recycling, but what does it mean to the average recycler?

WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The WEEE directive which came into force fully in 1st July 2007 puts the responsibility for disposal of electrical equipment with the manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment, and requires them to dispose of unwanted items in an environmentally-friendly manner.

There are 10 different categories of equipment that WEEE relates to

1. Large household appliances
2. Small household appliances
3. IT and telecommunications equipment
4. Consumer equipment
5. Lighting equipment
6. Electrical and electronic tools
7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment
8. Medical devices
9. Monitoring and control equipment
10. Automatic dispensers.

As an ordinary consumer you do not have to worry about complying with WEEE regulations; the onus is upon businesses involved in the manufacture, distribution, storage, retailing and disposal of the equipment to be in compliance.

The directive states that 'Consumers will be able to return their equipment free of charge' for recycling. Therefore retailers selling electrical goods must provide their customers with a clear explanation of how they can return their WEEE - whether the old equipment was bought from them or not.

As consumers however we must be responsible for ensuring that we dispose of items in an environmentally friendly manner, either by taking up retailers on the offer of accepting out unwanted electrical or electronic items, or disposing of them at our nearest recycling centre, where local councils will dispose of them in accordance with the WEEE regualtions.

3 year computer recycling contract

IT-Green, the UK's leading Ethical waste Electronics recycling Company has won a Contract to recycle waste electrical and electronic equipment for Hertfordshire County Council. The contract is to be for a period of 3 years and includes the recycling of IT waste and obsolete white goods.