Electrical waste

Something you don't understand? Look it up on the Environment and Energy Wiki Encyclopaedia (beta version)

The Environment and Energy Portal is now operational

Electrical and Electronic Waste

On 27 January 2003, two Directives entered into force within the EU. The first (RoHS) concerns constructional materials used for electrical and electronic equipment and does not concern us here, except to mention that it will cause far more environmental harm than it will ever prevent. The second is Directive 2002/96/EC on "Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)"[Download]. Both directives are vaguely worded and are quite open to interpretation and may be expected to be the subject of considerable debate.

The general purpose behind WEEE is to reduce the risk of pollution caused by electrical equipment being disposed of by being deposited within a landfill or by other means. As such, this is laudable. Instead, it should be recycled to a maximum. This maximum, to be attained by 31 December 2006, varies, by weight, from 70% (for small household equipment and similar) to 80% (for large household appliances and dispensers). Components removed from the equipment benefit from reduced percentages; for example, a PC should be recycled to 75% but a graphics card taken from it should be recycled to 65%. The fact that the latter is impossible to achieve does not appear to have fazed the rulemakers!

One of the main points of this Directive is contained within Article 5. Briefly summarised, this states inter alia:

Member States must implement measures to achieve a high level of separate collection of WEEE
By 13 August 2005, systems are set up to ensure free-of-charge collection of WEEE from private households
Distributors (i.e., retail shops) are obliged to take back on a one-to-one basis old appliances when a customer purchases a new one of equivalent type
Producers may set up their own take-back systems from private households
Collected WEEE should average at least 4 kg per inhabitant per year from private households by 31 December 2006
Member States are obliged to transpose the Directives into national law by 13 August 2005.

I find that one of the controversial points is the 4 kg/inhabitant/year rule. It is one thing for a professional childless couple in a highly developed country, such as Sweden or the Netherlands, always buying the latest gadgets and changing them regularly to produce 8 kg of waste electrics per year, but it is grossly unfair to expect families with 4 children in less developed countries like Poland, Cyprus or even Greece, with only a small fridge and a TV set to produce 24 kg/year, every year.

There is another point that needs examination. Some WEEE will contain metals and other substances that must be considered as very toxic. These will have no market value in smaller, poorer, countries, such as the Baltic States, nor have they any means of safely disposing of them. Whether the waste is recycled locally or not, these toxic materials must be disposed of safely but they will be classed as hazardous waste. This implies they will have to be exported. This will imply that they come under the aegis of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal [Download]. The cost of complying with this will not be insignificant. To give you an idea of the size of this problem, virtually all pre-2006 electronic and some electrical equipment contains lead and lead compounds (some contain even more toxic metals, such as arsenic and cadmium) and will automatically be considered as hazardous waste when taken out of service. Even if the lead were separated out, it will be impure and will still be hazardous waste when sent elsewhere for re-use.

Batteries

Batteries are not covered in this directive. Some types are covered in a 1991 Directive, but proposal are being made for an overall mandate on collection and recycling and can be seen here. It is interesting that this proposal suggests that recycling even cheap dry cells is economically viable.

Discuss anything related to this page at this forum.

The opinions on this site are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of any third party. All information is given in good faith but no responsibility is taken for such information; any person or organisation using such information should ascertain that it is suitable for his/her/their conditions of use.

No reproduction of the contents of part or the whole of this site may be made in any form without the written permission of the owner. An exception is made that a print-out may be made for one individual's private use without seeking permission; it is forbidden to make multiple copies or to photocopy a print-out. Links may be made to this site.