IT & WEEE
The Facts
The Current Situation
Electrical goods are the fastest growing waste stream in the UK - around 1.8 million tonnes of electrical/electronic goods are being made waste each year and 75% has previously been ending up at landfill sites. The volume is rising by 3-5% p.a.
Rabbitt Recycling are solution providers and work throughout the UK with a number of recycling partners who are specialists in the removal of computer and electrical equipment for re-use or recycling with full compliance with current EU and UK laws under the WEEE directive and other relative regulations.
EU Directive 2002/96/EC became UK law as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations on 2nd January 2007. This, combined with directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS), aims to reduce the amount of electrical waste going to landfill and improve recovery and recycling rates.
You will need to comply with the WEEE Regulations if you:
- manufacture or import electrical or electronic equipment
- distribute electrical or electronic equipment
- generate any electrical or electronic waste
- collect electrical or electronic waste from your customers for treatment or disposal
- operate a waste treatment facility
- export electrical or electronic waste.
About 2 million television sets are discarded each year and up to now most have ended up at landfill sites. Under the WEEE and RoHS regulations this will cease. Computer monitors, Televisions, CCTV monitors and all Cathode Ray Tube appliances are among the items now regarded as hazardous waste and as such cannot be put into a skip or sent to landfill. All such items will now have to be processed properly through a local council civic amenity site or via a recycling scheme.
The WEEE regulations cover a wide range of equipment under 10 categories. They are:
- Large household appliances
- Small household appliances
- IT & telecom equipment
- Consumer equipment
- Lighting equipment
- Electrical & electronic tools
- Toys, leisure & sports equipment
- Medical devices
- Monitoring & control equipment
- Automatic dispensers.
According to the Environment Agency, landfills in England & Wales received 60% less hazardous waste in 2006 than in 2004 despite the fact that due to more stringent legislative classification 12% more waste (6.6 million tonnes) was actually classified as hazardous.
Recycling and re-use including WEEE items increased in 2006 to 1.4 million tonnes - a 64% increase from 2004.
For every computer purchased another one becomes obsolete. Technology is advancing at such a pace that it is almost impossible and financially impractical for most of us to try to keep up to current specification.
The rapid technical development and availability of multi function mobile phones is also prompting many people to dispose of their desktop or tower type PC's sooner than they might otherwise have done. This applies equally to computer peripherals such as printers, scanners and monitors and to most business as well as home users. Software is similarly affected but at least disposal of it is easier.
IT Equipment Recycling
For domestic users wishing to dispose of an odd computer, printer etc the best recourse is to contact one of the many not-for-profit charity organisations that refurbish these items for either impoverished families, charities or projects in third world countries. Alternatively contact your local council. With all our transactions an economic and environmental balance has to be maintained - i.e. transporting one or two personal computers 30 or more miles to a re-processor is neither cost effective nor environmentally productive.
Rabbitt Recycling can provide a solution for companies wishing to dispose of redundant IT equipment.
For the bulk disposal of equipment, the preferred method is for the items to be shrink- wrapped onto a pallet, allowing easy and controlled movement of the goods; however this is negotiable to some degree.
The extent to which the equipment is recycled is dependent on its age and condition. This can range from disassembly for component recycling to refurbishment for resale to charities or third world countries and is the decision of the recycler. However, we encourage wherever possible that the recycling or disassembly of such materials remains within the UK.
Security issues such as certified hard disk erasure can be undertaken by our recyclers.
In bulk, printed circuit boards themselves have a value as many of the components can be recycled; however, it must be emphasised that revenue is only achievable with volume.
Call us to discuss your requirements in details and we will please to assist you.
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