Printwaste urges business re-think as 234,000 tonnes of WEEE ‘incorrectly disposed of’ annually

Printwaste is calling on businesses to think before disposing of old laptops and mobile phones as it emerges up to 234,000 tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is incorrectly disposed of each year by UK businesses.

The Cheltenham-based recycling and shredding firm has made the plea as new research published by Bristol-based environmental consultancy Eunomia found that, in 2019, businesses bought up to 484,000 tonnes of electricals, including phones, IT equipment and appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines. This equates to almost a staggering 30% of the 1.7 million tonnes of electricals sold in total that year.

The research, commissioned by Material Focus, the not-for-profit organisation funded by the WEEE compliance fee, also suggested that up to 200,000 tonnes were thrown away with general waste, up to 29,000 tonnes were “illegally exported” and up to 5,000 tonnes were fly-tipped. Material Focus claimed that, if all the business waste electricals sold in 2019 were recycled, 663,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions could be saved.

Echoing Material Focus’ stance that businesses have a duty of care to dispose of all their waste materials including electricals “responsibly” under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Don Robins, Managing Director of Printwaste said: “In a world where we’re seeing more irreversible signs of climate change, it is vital businesses take action to improve recycling rates. E-waste is the UK’s fastest growing waste stream, and all stakeholders within the lifecycle of these products must be held accountable to ensure this waste stream is recycled responsibly. Raising awareness is also vital, as some organisations don’t understand what they are doing is wrong or may not fully understand how to currently dispose of such materials, meaning collaborative working and knowledge sharing with their existing waste management provider should be encouraged.

“Businesses have a duty of care and legal requirement to handle their hazardous waste in a safe manner. WEEE items that are classified as hazardous waste should be stored safely and treated separately. Where possible, items should be reused or recycled. By working together, all parties can benefit both the environment as well as boost UK economy by converting waste products into reusable raw materials.”

He added: “Computer hard drives also contain confidential data, which can end up in the wrong hands if disposed of incorrectly. Incorrect disposal of confidential data significantly increases the risks of a data breach, which in turn has huge financial ramifications for a business - especially in light of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). It’s recommended to use an information destruction and recycling specialist which has industrial machinery that can destroy sensitive information to an unrecoverable state.”

The “Business Electrical Waste: Challenges and Opportunities” report by Eunomia can be read here.