Computer Recycling - WEEE Directive

Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment Recycling Directory (WEEE)

When does the directive come into force?

On 13th February 2003 the waste electrical and electronic equipment directive (WEEE Directive) and a second piece of legislation, the directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHs) were printed in the EU journal, and hence came into force in the EU. The WEEE Directive was enforced by law in August 2005 and majority of the directive requirements should have come into force by August 2006. Get a pdf here

Who does it affect?

The WEEE Directive affects manufacturers, retailers, home users and businesses and applies to a huge range of electronic and electrical equipment.

What are the directives aims?

The WEEE directive aims to minimise the impact of electrical waste on the environment by encouraging reuse, recycling and the recovery of WEEE.

Why was the directive brought about?

The directive was brought about to tackle the problem of how to dispose of outdated, redundant electronic and electrical goods, which is a huge problem and growing year after year.

Every year an estimated 1 million tonnes of electronic and electrical equipment waste (WEEE) are discarded by house holders and commercial groups in the U.K. Dealing with the disposal of WEEE is an important issue as electrical goods are short lived, so the quantities of waste are ever increasing.

Experts have predicted that the disposal of e-waste will be the 21st century’s most demanding toxic waste problem. This is principally due to PCB’s (lead) and other poisonous substances (hexavalent chromium, brominated flame retardants etc.) which are contained in most information technology electronic equipment.

When obsolete materials are not recycled, raw materials have to be processed to make new products. This represents a major loss of resources as the energy, transport and environmental damage caused by these processes are huge.

Statistics

National statistics indicate that at present less than 15% of retired computers are sent to landfills, usually without the benefit of proper disposal preparation.

U.K. households throw away about a million tonnes - or 93 million items - of electrical and electronic waste in a year according to new ICER (Industry Council for Electronic Equipment recycling) research. This works out at 16kg per person and four items per household.

According to a recent UN study, the manufacture of a new computer and monitor uses 240kg of fossil fuels, 22kg of chemicals and 1500 litres of water. Similar quantities are used in the manufacture of an average car. The nature of many of these materials is such that they can be recycled with relative ease preventing the waste associated with producing new raw materials.

‘We can all do our own little bit to make a big difference’

1: Lead in cathode ray tube and solder
2: Arsenic in older cathode ray tubes
5: Antimony trioxide as flame retardant
4: Polybrominated flame retardants in plastic casings, cables and circuit boards
3: Selenium in circuit boards as power supply rectifier
6: Cadmium in circuit boards and semiconductors
7: Chromium in steel as corrosion protection
8: Cobalt in steel for structure and magnetivity
9: Mercury in switches and housing

For more Information:

http://www.icer.org.uk/statrep.htm
http://www.netregs.gov.uk/netregs/legislation/380525/473094/