More needs to be done to address the issue of waste business electronics that are not dealt with within the WEEE system and instead end up being illegally exported overseas to the developing world, according to one of the UK's largest waste electronics reprocessors.
Justin Greenaway, contracts manager for Kent-based SWEEEP/Kuusakoski, told letsrecycle.com that, while business-to-business, or B2B, WEEE represented a “big opportunity” for his company, in many cases material from businesses and organisations was simply packed into containers and sent, without being properly checked, overseas.
He explained that, with collection and treatment routes for B2B waste electronics already being established before the WEEE Regulations came into effect in July 2007, the material did not always pass through the formal WEEE system. He noted that this contributed to the low tonnage of B2B WEEE collected every year, compared to the figure for household WEEE.
“There's obviously leakage in the system,” he said. “The big leakage comes from the business sector but it's not reported activity.”
Mr Greenaway explained that, at the moment, developing markets were the only countries buying the type of material involved – mainly cathode ray tubes (CRTs) from TVs and base units – with material that is actually WEEE being “upgraded” to functioning electronics so it can be exported.
As a result, he called on the companies involved in clearing business WEEE from offices and other workplaces to be more aware of exactly who they were selling the material on to and where it was going to be sent to.
“I think the B2B guys taking the businesses' computers of the businesses' desk have got to get a good understanding of where the equipment ends up,” he said.
“They have got a liability as to whether to ends up being functioning electronics or understanding where it becomes raw materials.”
And, he noted that, while the export of material overseas was a “lost volume” for UK reprocessors, “more, as a country, we can't be seen to be throwing our waste onto a country that isn't reprocessing it properly”.
Reuse
Mr Greenaway asked how, if companies were able to identify their equipment when it ended up in Africa because it had not had their name removed from it by a reuse company, could they have any confidence that the data they had hoped would be removed from there as well would have been taken off.
The big leakage comes from the business sector but it's not reported activity
Justin Greenaway, contracts manager, SWEEEP/Kuusakoski
But, he claimed that the “psyche” among businesses was changing, with more and more being aware of how it could affect their brand image if products end up being dealt with illegally, and, he added “you get so much turning up on eBay it's scary for them”.
At the same time, he highlighted the impact that the ‘reuse standard', which was being developed by the government's WEEE Advisory Body before its abolition was announced last month (see letsrecycle.com story), and is now set to be brought forward by the department of business, might have, explaining that it gave people a “simple question to ask on the phone” about whether a company had met the standard.
And, he praised the work of the Environment Agency in targeting potential illegal exports of WEEE, explaining that, while they couldn't be expected to open every container of material, “I have got a lot of faith in the guys who are doing it at the moment”.
Mr Greenaway's comments were made as SWEEEP/Kuusakoski prepares to significantly expand its operations into the B2B stream with the introduction of a dedicated asset tracking service, by introducing a “really secure area” to allow it to receive business equipment.
With 80% of the firm's input coming from the household WEEE stream, Mr Greenaway said B2B represented a “big opportunity” for the company, in particular in light of the potential for recovering material from it using the Sittingbourne facility's MeWa technology.
He claimed that, while material being dealt with via other means might not be processed so quickly, opening it up to being resold on the “grey market”, the MeWa plant's capacity meant it could ensure the material was dealt with without this being an issue, providing “brand protection” for the company involved.
TV campaign
Mr Greenaway also provided an update on the TV advert project which SWEEEP/Kuusakoski jointly launched alongside seven other companies involved in the WEEE sector last week in a bid to produce and air an advertisement that will increase public awareness of WEEE recycling (see letsrecycle.com story).
He said a further company, reprocessor Centillion, which has UK headquarters in South Wales, had also signed up to help the fund the project, but that his next step for the scheme was to “draw in” funds from those who had already committed.
The advert is set to be produced by a company who have made videos for SWEEEP/Kuusakoski in the past, before Mr Greenaway plans to draw on WRAP's experience of market testing, noting that “they've got experience with market testing and have been fairly successful”.
While acknowledging that more money would be needed to get the advert actually screened, Mr Greenaway explained the project would focus on the areas where each of companies involved actually operated.
“The people who have contributed have footprints,” he said. “I think collectively I have got three or four compliance schemes in this area. I think if I speak to the compliance schemes I would definitely get them to fund it if it got a 5% increase.”
And, he said there was a significant demand from TV channels for companies willing to advertise, noting: “I have priced it in the Meridian area and those guys are crying out for advertising at the moment.”
Mr Greenaway also revealed that he had discussed celebrity involvement in the advert in the shape of TV comedian Dom Joly, but that no agreement or final decision on this aspect of the project had been made yet.
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