Wincanton wins contract to recycle WEEE from Comet

Wincanton, which has operated Comet's fridge take-back service since 2003, will operate six regional centres for the sorting and grading of a wider range of electronic goods, received through Comet's home delivery services.

Workers dismantle fridges at Wincanton's Billingham reprocessing plant on Teeside. The plant will be a major component of the Comet WEEE contract

The company said based on current data, it will be processing about 25,000 tonnes of equipment each year under the rolling contract, but this could change under new recycling laws stemming from Europe's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive.

Where possible, items will be refurbished for re-use in the community, Wincanton said, working with social enterprise partners Renew, Remploy and CREATE UK.

The nationwide WEEE contract follows a trial in which Wincanton worked with 50 Comet stores mainly in the Midlands (see letsrecycle.com story).

The new arrangements will be reviewed in line with the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive once more detail is revealed in the UK regulations implementing the Directive.

Under the Directive, electronics retailers are to offer free take-back services for householders for waste electrical items. New regulations are expected in summer 2005.

Comet's head of services, Phil Heaton, said: “Wincanton is able to provide a one-stop solution to meet our WEEE collection needs, as well as the right specialist experience to extract maximum value from the end-of-life equipment.”

Capability
Gordon Scott, managing director of Wincanton's industrial arm, said: “Wincanton has the capability to provide national solutions to retailers and producers in terms of WEEE collection and recycling facilities, drawing on our existing experience in waste management and expertise in reverse logistics.”

End of life fridges will be taken to Wincanton's fridge processing facility in Billingham, on Teeside, which has the ability to process up to 400,000 units each year.

Televisions will be recycled in accordance with the expected requirements under the WEEE Directive, Wincanton said. Remaining items will be recycled at local recycling facilities.