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Yorkshire firm trials electrical equipment recovery scheme

Electrical engineering company DBS has begun a two-year pilot to recover materials from household electrical waste with the funding of Yorventure, the environmental body of waste management firm Yorwaste.

Under the scheme, which is supported by Landfill Tax Credits, Northallerton-based Yorwaste has installed containers for old electrical and electronic equipment at two of its household waste recycling centres in Yafforth, North Yorkshire and Foss Islands in the City of York.

Prepared

The waste is dismantled by hand at the DBS site in Hessay, near York, and recyclable or reusable materials removed. John Miller of Yorwaste, which operates 23 household waste sites across North Yorkshire and the City of York, explained that the company wanted to be prepared for the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. This stipulates that by the end of 2005, Britain must recover and recycle 75% of its waste electrical and electronic equipment.

Mr Miller said: “This Yorventure-funded scheme, which is the first of its kind in the region, will hopefully result in us finding a more sustainable solution of dealing with all old electrical and electronic equipment.” The aim of the pilot, he said, was to “look at how easy it is and how much it costs to recover this material. It is very much a research project for the treatment of a new waste type.”

Focus

In the initial stages of the scheme, DBS will focus on recovering precious metals and steel from equipment such as TVs, computer monitors, microwaves and hi-fis. Plastics and glass are not recycled, although DBS plans to introduce equipment to recycle cathode ray tubes, Mr Miller said.

However, it is not expected that the revenue gained from recovering materials will cover the cost of dismantling the old equipment. If the scheme is to continue beyond the pilot, Mr Miller explained, another form of funding, such as producer responsibility pressure, will be needed.

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