Image via WikipediaBy Phil GibbsIt seems you cannot go a month in the UK without hearing the latest horror story of electrical waste (WEEE) being stopped at the ports in containers for exportation. Companies and individuals believe that when they recycle their old electrical equipment it is destined for reuse or material level recycling. But that is not always the case.
If you type the phrase "electrical waste exportation" into your search engine you will read some of the stories that have recently made the news. Within the WEEE directive the emphasis for recycling is lower in priority than reuse, if the item works reuse it, if it doesn't break it down to its raw materials. However non working equipment has been found destined for exportation that is the problem. Such equipment will contain hazardous components, harmful to the environment and the people that will probably strip the equipment by hand. The UK has the technology to recycle non working equipment in a safe and environmentally friendly way, so non working equipment must be processed in the UK without exportation!
The reuse of working equipment within the UK is great, and it's practical to find a new home for something that is in demand. For example newer IT equipment can be reused in schools, charities etc.. This is a good idea we all say, however, with working items also being shipped abroad, what happens when that working piece of equipment no longer works in another country?
The chances are the item will end up in an undeveloped country where recycling technologies, environmental laws and health safety are not as regulated as that of the UK and Europe. The equipment may well be stripped by hand at the end of its life, including the hazardous components for refining the materials out of them. I would feel a social responsibility to ensure i knew where my equipment was ending up however others do not have that same thought.
Companies and individuals that are clearing out their IT storage room (for example) need to do their homework on the company that they are using for their recycling. Any legitimate recycling company in the UK, will be registered with the Environment Agency to either carry, store, sort or treat waste, depending on their activities.
When first discussing a recycling collection, ask to see a copy of their waste carriers license, ask them where the equipment will end up and the recycling process. You should be given duty of care paperwork that will follow the equipment on each part of its journey, whether for reuse or for material recovery recycling.
You have a legal obligation to know where your equipment ends up. For example say you had some equipment collected by a recycling company that then fly tipped the equipment near by. The environment agency may investigate the equipment, trace it back to you and then prosecute you for not disposing of the equipment in a legal and friendly way. You do have a clear responsibility!
I hope to see the day when we don't hear any type of waste being exported illegally especially electrical waste. We all have a responsibility to dispose of any type of waste in an ethical manner regardless of what it is. If companies and individuals took the time to investigate the company they were thinking of using to recycle their WEEE waste, the majority of these horror stories would not happen. Take your time, do your homework and recycle, recycle, recycle.
For more information on legal and environmentally friendly weee recycling for businesses please contact Pure Planet Recycling.
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