But, the secondary resources market development agency has said this should be seen as an opportunity rather than a “cost or problem”.
New regulations stemming from the European Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive are expected to be in place in the UK by August this year. The regulations are likely to require ten categories of waste electronics to be collected for recycling, amounting to 4kg of material for each head of the UK population.
”Managing waste electronic and electrical equipment can actually be an economic opportunity for London.“
– Hugh Carr-Harris, London Remade CEO
Following a WEEE scoping study into the impact of the WEEE Directive on London, London Remade has said that a 15 million investment will be needed to develop new reprocessing facilities in the Capital.
However, Hugh Carr-Harris, London Remade chief executive, said: “London needs to do much more to prepare for the impact of the WEEE Directive. But this shouldn't just be viewed as another cost or problem, managing waste electronic and electrical equipment can actually be an economic opportunity for London.
“By attracting private sector reprocessors, we can boost the local economy and jobs markets. London Remade is already investigating a number of inward investment opportunities in the reprocessing sector in order for London to develop a leadership position in this area.”
Civic amenity sites
The use of council sites for the collection of household WEEE is likely to be necessary for the WEEE Directive demands, but the upgrades needed for London's 39 CA sites will cost boroughs a total of about 1.6 million, the report says.
Local authorities will need to lobby the government to make sure producers contribute to these costs, it adds, although these upgrades will be partially funded by a compliance scheme for electrical retailers.
The DTI is recommending three containers in each civic amenity site for electronics – one for CRTs, one for fluorescent tubes and one for mixed WEEE. Bring banks for WEEE are also likely to be added to existing supermarket bring banks.
Treatment
Treatment and reprocessing conditions for collected WEEE will not be known until the government lays down UK regulations. There are no significant reprocessing problems for WEEE after the removal of the harmful materials and components identified in Annex II of the WEEE Directive, the report says.
But, how those components are to be removed is not yet known, although the government has indicated preference for some form of shredding prior to the recovery of these components – against the wishes of the labour-intensive community sector.
Cathode ray tubes will pose a particular problem, the report says, a ban on cathode ray tubes going to landfill will cost the city 4 million to 6.5 million each year from 2005 based on estimates of 3 to 5 costs per unit. Finding markets for CRTs – and other difficult WEEE materials like mixed plastics – will also be very difficult according to London Remade.
Commercial WEEE
In the commercial sector, many large corporations are leasing their IT equipment rather than purchasing them. Often, equipment is leased from manufacturers who will have to dispose of it at the end of its life. The London Remade report suggests that refurbishment organisations – particularly in the community sector – may benefit from relationships with IT leasing companies to source high-quality WEEE.
Small businesses do not yet have clear routes for disposing of WEEE, and the report suggests that civic amenity sites will “probably” be the main disposal site for these SMEs.
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