Every year in the UK, households throw away over 1 million tonnes of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) such as TVs, fridges, hairdryers and computers – anything that comes with a plug or takes batteries.
WEEE isn’t biodegradable and contains up to 38 different chemical elements some of which are hazardous so will be polluting landfill for generations to come.
Most council Kerbside collections will not collect waste electronic equipment from your doorstep directly but all councils will have someway of helping you dispose of your old TV, PC or Fridge. Most will have a colection point at your local Household Waste Recycling Centre or you may be able to have bigger items picked up from your house by prior arrangement.
Many electrical retailers will also run schemes to takeback your old electronic equipment – especially when you are buying a new item from them!
- The amount of WEEE waste produced in the UK is growing by at least 5% each year
- On average each person in the UK buys three new electrical items every year
- 14kg of WEEE waste per person, per year is created in the UK
- By 2016, EU member states will have to recycle 45 per cent of the electronic products sold
- The USA creates 9.4 million tonnes of Electronic waste per year
- Globally 'ewaste' is set to reach 65.4 million tons annually by 2017
The items are taken from the collection point to a processing plant where any items that can’t be reused are broken down into components.
The plastics and large metals are sent off to specialist recycling companies. The remainder is shredded and separated out into component metals for reuse in the manufacturing industry.