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Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Revision as of 14:36, 1 April 2022 by Bin52 (talk | contribs) (→‎Macro Tonnage: updated with 2021 calendar year data)

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), also known as E-waste, is end of life Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE), i.e. items that require electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to operate. The EA reported[1] that 1.8 million tonnes of EEE was placed on the market in the UK in 2020, with 466,420 tonnes of WEEE collected.

WEEE - Picture from BioEnergy Consult, All Rights Reserved
WEEE - Picture from BioEnergy Consult, All Rights Reserved


Overview

WEEE was first introduced by the WEEE Directive in 2002 to address the environmental impacts of unwanted electrical and electronic equipment at end-of-life and disposal. WEEE is classed as either household (primarily EWC 20 01 35 and 20 01 36) or non-household (EWC 16 02 09* to 16). The objective of the Directive and its transposed legislation, the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2007, as amended is to promote recycling and minimise waste by putting the emphasis for end-of-life treatment and recovery on the original producers or distributors of the items. In the 2019-21 House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee Report[2] it identifies the UK as the second highest generator of E-waste per person in the world, after Norway, at 23.9kg per person.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (as amended) is the current underpinning UK legislation [3].

The regulations identify 10 broad categories of WEEE, including:

  1. Large household appliances e.g. fridges, cookers, microwaves, washing machines and dishwashers
  2. Small household appliances e.g. vacuum cleaners, irons, toasters and clocks
  3. IT and telecommunications equipment – e.g. personal computers, copying equipment, telephones and pocket calculators
  4. Consumer equipment e.g. radios, televisions, hi-fi equipment, camcorders ad musical instruments
  5. Lighting equipment e.g. straight and compact fluorescent tubes and high intensity discharge lamps
  6. Electrical and electronic tools – e.g. drills, saws and sewing machines, electric lawnmowers
  7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment e.g. electric trains, games consoles and running machines
  8. Medical devices e.g. (non infected) dialysis machines, analysers, medical freezers and cardiology equipment
  9. Monitoring and control equipment e .g. smoke detectors, thermostats and heating regulators
  10. Automatic dispensers e.g. hot drinks dispensers and money dispensers[4].

Recycling of WEEE is a specialist part of the waste and recycling industry; it is a rapidly growing sub-sector due largely to the implementation of the original WEEE Directive[4]. ‌ WEEE generally contains a mixed variety of materials, potentially including hazardous ones (e.g. cadmium, arsenic or lead), making it problematic to manage and meaning the treatment methods for WEEE vary massively depending on the technology used and the relevant category[4].

The EA updated their public register of producers and approved exporters, authorised treatment facilities and producer compliance schemes in March 2022[5].

Macro Tonnage

The most recent information published by DEFRA [6] is summarized in the pie chart below, with 592,905 tonnes of collected discarded equipment waste identified in the UK in 2016 (WEEE being part of this category and the broader tonnage summarized in UK Waste Tonnage), the most recent data from the EA[1] indicated that 1.6 million tonnes of Household Electronic and Electrical Equipment and 0.3 million tonnes of Non-Household Electronic and Electrical Equipment were placed on the market in 2020, of which 466,420 tonnes was collected:

Discarded Equipment
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Data Table
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (AFF) 165
Mining and Quarrying (MQ) 502
Industrial (Ind) 29,774
Construction (Con) 3,937
Commercial (Com) 201,877
Household (HH) 356,650

January 2020 to December 2020

The macro numbers above do not breakdown the component elements of WEEE, but the EA data for January to December 2020 provides a more detailed breakdown for Household and Non-household WEEE[1].

Category Name Household WEEE collected from a DCF[7](tonnes) Household WEEE returned under regulation 43[8] (tonnes) Household WEEE returned under regulation 50 [9](tonnes) Total separately collected Household WEEE[10](tonnes) Total Non-household WEEE (tonnes) Total WEEE (tonnes)
1 Large Household Appliances 69,881 93,026 22,104 186,368 481 186,849
2 Small Household Appliances 24,758 672 2,441 27,938 66 28,004
3 IT and Telcomms Equipment 22,180 633 9,087 31,974 647 32,621
4 Consumer Equipment 15,509 157 3,862 19,557 14 19,571
5 Lighting Equipment 3,847 100 532 4,484 2,754 7,238
6 Electrical and Electronic Tools 18,873 200 1,031 20,147 139 20,286
7 Toys Leisure and Sports 3,684 31 247 3,968 2 3,970
8 Medical Devices 4 0 10 13 223 236
9 Monitoring and Control Instruments 738 15 211 969 105 1,074
10 Automatic Dispensers 0 0 0 0 121 121
11 Display Equipment 31,709 1,315 2,934 36,029 10 36,039
12 Cooling Appliances Containing Refrigerants 68,796 46,442 8,946 125,005 1,723 126,728
13 Gas Discharge Lamps and LED Light Sources 704 171 2,570 3,445 1 3,446
14 Photovoltaic Panels 170 23 42 236 0 236
Total 260,850 142,785 54,016 460,134 6,286 466,419

January 2020 to December 2021

The macro numbers above do not breakdown the component elements of WEEE, but the EA data for January to December 2021 provides a more detailed breakdown for Household and Non-household WEEE[1].

Category Name Household WEEE collected from a DCF[11](tonnes) Household WEEE returned under regulation 43[12] (tonnes) Household WEEE returned under regulation 50 [13](tonnes) Total separately collected Household WEEE[14](tonnes) Total Non-household WEEE (tonnes) Total WEEE (tonnes)
1 Large Household Appliances 71,730 94,329 14,987 182,646 516 183,162
2 Small Household Appliances 26,729 674 3,902 31,386 23 31,409
3 IT and Telcomms Equipment 23,835 715 12,097 36,681 754 37,435
4 Consumer Equipment 16,404 181 4,266 20,917 4 20,921
5 Lighting Equipment 4,407 117 723 5,253 2,581 7,834
6 Electrical and Electronic Tools 20,813 244 1,658 22,741 185 22,926
7 Toys Leisure and Sports 4,113 36 388 4,542 1 4,543
8 Medical Devices 0 0 10 11 235 246
9 Monitoring and Control Instruments 837 14 251 1,105 89 1,194
10 Automatic Dispensers 0 0 0 0 128 128
11 Display Equipment 33,081 1,514 4,995 39,707 7 39,714
12 Cooling Appliances Containing Refrigerants 79,952 48,678 12,569 141,947 2,595 144,542
13 Gas Discharge Lamps and LED Light Sources 898 242 2,884 4,024 1 4,025
14 Photovoltaic Panels 197 3 54 254 0 254
Total 282,997 146,748 58,784 491,213 7,118 498,333

The following WEEE headers in the page are a selection of the above list as captured by local authorities handling WEEE and as reported through WasteDataFlow.

Fluorescent tubes and other light bulbs

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 2000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.


Authority Stream Facility Operator Address Material Tonnes
East Sussex County Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) M D J Light Bros ( Scrap Processors ) Ltd Greystone Quarry, Southerham, Lewes, East Sussex WEEE - Flourescent tubes and other light bulbs 6,150.33 {{{date}}}
Norfolk County Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Wiser Recycling Ltd St lves Resource Recovery Facility, Caxton Road, St lves, Cornwall WEEE - Flourescent tubes and other light bulbs 4,205.06 {{{date}}}
Greater Manchester WDA (MBC) Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Recycling Lives Ltd D1/ D2 Longridge Road, Red Scar Bus Park, Preston, Lancashire WEEE - Flourescent tubes and other light bulbs 3,953.13 {{{date}}}

Fridges & Freezers

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 5000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.


Authority Stream Facility Operator Address Material Tonnes
Stockport MBC Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK Ltd Longley Lane, Sharston, Manchester WEEE - Fridges & Freezers 12,058.54 {{{date}}}
West Sussex County Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) M D J Light Bros ( Scrap Processors ) Ltd Greystone Quarry, Southerham, Lewes, East Sussex WEEE - Fridges & Freezers 9,245.76 {{{date}}}
East Sussex County Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) M D J Light Bros ( Scrap Processors ) Ltd Greystone Quarry, Southerham, Lewes, East Sussex WEEE - Fridges & Freezers 6,150.33 {{{date}}}

Large Domestic App

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 10000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.


Authority Stream Facility Operator Address Material Tonnes
Merseyside WDA (MBC) Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) S Norton & Co Ltd Bankfield House, Bankfield Mill, Regent Road, Liverpool, Merseyside WEEE - Large Domestic App 17,486.76 {{{date}}}
Devon County Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Sims Group Uk Ltd 7 Christow Road, Marsh Barton Ind Est, Exeter, Devon WEEE - Large Domestic App 10,490.73 {{{date}}}
Greater Manchester WDA (MBC) Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Recycling Lives Ltd D1/ D2 Longridge Road, Red Scar Bus Park, Preston, Lancashire WEEE - Large Domestic App 10,159.73 {{{date}}}

Small Domestic App

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 10000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.


Authority Stream Facility Operator Address Material Tonnes
Merseyside WDA (MBC) Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) S Norton & Co Ltd Bankfield House, Bankfield Mill, Regent Road, Liverpool, Merseyside WEEE - Small Domestic App 17,486.76 {{{date}}}
Devon County Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Sims Group Uk Ltd 7 Christow Road, Marsh Barton Ind Est, Exeter, Devon WEEE - Small Domestic App 10,490.73 {{{date}}}

TVs & Monitors

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 5000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.


Authority Stream Facility Operator Address Material Tonnes
Greater Manchester WDA (MBC) Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Recycling Lives Ltd D1/ D2 Longridge Road, Red Scar Bus Park, Preston, Lancashire WEEE - TVs & Monitors 10,159.73 {{{date}}}
West Sussex County Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) M D J Light Bros ( Scrap Processors ) Ltd Greystone Quarry, Southerham, Lewes, East Sussex WEEE - TVs & Monitors 9,245.76 {{{date}}}
Lancashire County Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Recycling Lives Ltd D1/ D2 Longridge Road, Red Scar Bus Park, Preston, Lancashire WEEE - TVs & Monitors 8,725.31 {{{date}}}
East Sussex County Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) M D J Light Bros ( Scrap Processors ) Ltd Greystone Quarry, Southerham, Lewes, East Sussex WEEE - TVs & Monitors 6,150.33 {{{date}}}

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/waste-electrical-and-electronic-equipment-weee-in-the-uk
  2. ↑ Electronic Waste and the Circular Economy
  3. ↑ Office for Product Safety and Standards, 2018. Regulations: waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). GOV.UK. [online] [Accessed 5 Dec. 2019]
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Health and Safety Executive, 2013. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling (WEEE). Hse.gov.uk. [online] [Accessed 5 Dec. 2019].
  5. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-electrical-and-electronic-equipment-weee-public-registers
  6. ↑ UK Statistics on Waste 2020
  7. ↑ This figure includes household WEEE from Designated Collection Facilities (DCFs) that has been collected by Producer Compliance Schemes, and household WEEE that DCFs have cleared themselves
  8. ↑ This figure includes household WEEE returned by distributors to Producer Compliance Schemes
  9. ↑ This figure includes household WEEE collected through a collection system a Producer Compliance Scheme operates itself
  10. ↑ This figure is the amount of WEEE Producer Compliance Schemes have reported as being delivered to Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities and Approved Exporters on their behalf
  11. ↑ This figure includes household WEEE from Designated Collection Facilities (DCFs) that has been collected by Producer Compliance Schemes, and household WEEE that DCFs have cleared themselves
  12. ↑ This figure includes household WEEE returned by distributors to Producer Compliance Schemes
  13. ↑ This figure includes household WEEE collected through a collection system a Producer Compliance Scheme operates itself
  14. ↑ This figure is the amount of WEEE Producer Compliance Schemes have reported as being delivered to Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities and Approved Exporters on their behalf
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