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Waste Electronic & Electrical Equipment There have been facilities for disposing of large items like refrigerators and washing machines for several yeas. But what about that old coffee maker or toaster? Or more importantly that old TV, or telephone, printer, computer and computer monitor, electronic toy, game machine, smoke detector, printer cartridges etc. etc. or last years model of mobile phone? Do they just go in the bin? The European Directive for WEEE came into force in 2003 and requires all manufactures of electrical and electronic items to be responsible for the disposal of their products and the end of their life. It is hoped that placing an end-of-life cost on producers will act as an incentive to design longer-lived products, containing fewer hazardous materials, and which are easier to recycle. The UK was one of the last EU countries to implement this directive and narrowly escaped penalties for it's tardiness.
The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology has produced "The UK produces around 15% of the EU's total waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE). The disposal and low rates of recycling of electronic and electrical appliances, many containing toxic components, may pose an environmental hazard. The UK introduced new legislation in January 2007, to minimise WEEE, to support recycling and re-use, and to improve the monitoring of final disposal of materials." It also reports that : “In 2003 the UK discarded 14 million large household appliances, 12 million items of consumer equipment, 30 million small household appliances, 21 million items of IT & telecoms equipment and 17 million other items; totalling 940 thousands tonnes out of our total waste was 300 million tonnes.”
This Note explains in detail the responsibilities of the various
parties. The hazards from WEEE are proportionately much higher than from general rubbish, as this waste inevitably contains batteries, toxic metals such as lead and mercury, and other hazardous materials, and also certain raw materials that we are running out of. So what SHOULD you do with your WEEE? Well for a start DON'T bung it in the bin! The legislation now requires retailers and distributors of electronic equipment to either provide a free in store take-back scheme for customers or to arrange collection by a national “Distributor Takeback Scheme”. Local Authorities waste collection and processing sites are also considered to be a key route of disposal. Money raised from retailers is available for sites that have opted to join the network of Designated Collection Facilities. It has been a legal requirement for several years now that fridges and freezers, which contain ozone-depleting gases, must be disposed of in an approved manner, and there are well-established procedures for doing this. The local contact point for Craven residents is Craven District Council Customer Services Dept, tel. 01756 706203 Similarly the district council has provided facilities for disposing of TVs and computer monitor screens and fluorescent light tubes, all of which contain dangerous chemicals in their tubes, at their domestic recycling points. Larger electrical domestic goods are also handled separately. We are pleased to report that small items of WEEE are now kept separate at the recycling centre in Settle and will be processed rather than being dumped.
There are at present
various schemes for recycling domestic computers throughout the UK but none
local to us. There are commercial firms, which will collect and refurbish old
computers, but these invariably only service – at a charge - organisations and
large offices.
Consider
upgrading a computer There are numerous articles
on the Environment Agency's
web site,
A useful website with
links to various related organisations is Your redundant
mobile phone are welcomed by
Printer cartridges can also be recycled by various schemes.
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