WEEE & BATTERIES
The UK should try to exceed EU WEEE targets, says Simon Walsh of ShP
Axion calls for greater WEEE incentives
Positive procurement-based encourage- ment, rather than burdensome legisla- tive enforcement, is the way forward to increase volumes of WEEE recy- cling across Europe, suggests Axion Polymers.
UK needs to mean business on compliance
Proposed EU e-waste targets are achiev- able if businesses pull their weight, according
to a recycling industry
expert. Business owners must tighten up their practices to comply with new policies, as it is expected that tougher targets will spark an e-waste crack- down by regulatory bodies.
The European Parliament recently
backed new targets requiring member states to recycle and reuse 85% of their e-waste by 2016. Under existing rules WEEE targets are based on weight and the UK has met these with ease. Member states should collect 4kg of electrical waste per inhabitant by 2012 or the weight of electrical waste col- lected in 2010, whichever is greater. It is estimated that more than 1M tonnes of WEEE is discarded in the UK
each year and this is growing three times faster than any other waste type. Simon Walsh from ShP, a European electronic recycling company, says: “The suggested targets are achievable. If politicians, business leaders, local authorities and retailers play their part we can meet these goals.”
He adds: “I want to see the UK exceed these targets. Education is key. Some businesses aren’t even aware it’s illegal to dispose of WEEE in general waste. WEEE isn’t just big items – it also includes items like electric tooth- brushes and memory sticks.” ShP specialises in recycling and reuse services, B2B WEEE compliance and retail trade-in services.
www.shplimited.co.uk Recolight champions used light bulbs
Recolight, the specialist WEEE compliance scheme for the lighting industry, has unveiled its latest resource in the campaign to get the UK recycling low-energy light bulbs through its partnership with the CoBRA (Community Bulb Recycling Alliance) scheme. A short animation illustrates how people can help increase recycling rates of low-energy light bulbs in their community by becoming a CoBRA volunteer. The video directs view- ers to the Recolight CoBRAscheme website where anyone interested in volunteering can also sign up. CoBRA is an initiative that aims
16 Local Authority Waste & Recycling April 2011
to create volunteer recycling champions who help take responsibility for collecting used low-energy light bulbs for recycling in their local area. These champions take on respon- sibility for collecting the used light bulbs in collection containers which can be placed in community locations.
Nigel Harvey, chief executive of Recolight, says: “The film has been developed to show how easy it is to become a volunteer and make a difference to the environment.”
www.recolight.cobrascheme.com www.axionpolymers.com
The Salford-based plastics recycler believes UK and European governments could learn lessons from their US coun- terparts, whose EPEAT (Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool) measuring system is having a
Carrots beat sticks, says Keith Freegard
greater impact on recycling levels over there. A large number of branded OEMs have already signed up to this system of product assessment. “EPEAT is more of a positive driver to encourage more WEEE recycling in the USA,” asserts Axion director Keith Freegard. “A ‘carrot rather than stick’ approach is what’s needed if we are to create the positive drivers that make products containing recy- cling content much more sustainable and attractive to potential purchasers. It’s a pulling-through approach to increasing recycling volumes that will optimise reuse and preservation of our valuable resources.”
Calling for action, Freegard adds: “Axion would strongly encourage the UK Government to create and support a similar positive procurement policy for all government departments and right across the public sector. For example, imagine how much is spent on buying electronic equipment in the NHS, the MoD and local authorities and how this could impact recycling volumes?”
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