PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY STEMMING THE WASTE FLOW
The recent Panorama exposé showed that the UK has an underground illegal exporting industry, which is taking defunct waste electronics to third world countries such as Africa under the guise that they are suitable for reuse. Patrick Watts,
managing director of SWEEEP Kuusakoski, one of the UK’s leading waste electronic recyclers, argues that the public sector has to take responsibility for its waste.
he introduction of the Waste Electrical and Electronics Equipment (WEEE) Directive on the 1st July 2007 deemed that electrical equipment – basically anything with a plug – can no longer go to landfill and must be recovered for reuse or recycling. And, while the UK makes great headway in reducing waste, WEEE is one waste that is set to increase dramatically over the coming years as our desire for the latest gadget sees greater quantities purchased this year.
T
Indeed, looking at figures from Defra, we are purchasing a lot more electronics
than we are recycling so the need for stringent processes now, will put the public sector a step ahead in years to come. For instance, in 2010 approximately 16,000 tonnes of non-household waste electronics was recycled through Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities – sites that are specifically audited for quality of recycling and legal compliance,, while more than 260,000 tonnes were placed on to the market for sale.
When it comes to IT and telecoms equipment, (excluding household IT), just over 5,000 tonnes were collected for recycling compared to nearly 19,000 tonnes being placed on the market. A recast of the WEEE directive is underway and if the proposed timetable is adhered to, the new requirements could be in force by January 2014. The proposed requirements will change and increase the WEEE recycling targets, from its current level of 4kg per capita to 45 per cent of goods put on the market each year within three years of the redraft, rising to 65 per cent after seven years.
It is therefore increasingly critical that public sector organisations are establishing recycling processes that are safe, secure and sustainable for the amount of waste generated today, and in the future.
When setting up these processes, organisations should aim to follow the recycling hierarchy; reduce, reuse and recycle. With electronics, there is a strong tendency in affluent countries such as the UK to upgrade to the latest model, long before it reaches its end of life or to
20 PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY • VOLUME 1 ISSUE 3
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