Spotlight on Waste; Things WEEE All Need to Know About Electronic Waste in Business

If you’re not up to speed on WEEE regulations, you may be inadvertently breaking the law.

The legislation governs the disposal of all electronic equipment from computers to kettles. In a nutshell, if it has a plug on it, there are rules for getting rid of it.

The 2013 Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment directive which came in to law on the 1st of January 2014 applies to all businesses and educational institutions. For the full set of regulations, visit the .gov.uk site

Sadly, instances of fly tipping (of electronic and other junk) are on the increase which seems incredulous with fines of ￡50,000 and up to 12 months imprisonment if convicted in a Magistrate’s Court or unlimited fines and 5 years handed out from Crown Court.

In short, removal of old electronic items can be a headache. There are several companies in the Yorkshire area who collect, such as DooGood Recycling. Look out for free collection service for obsolete commercial electronic goods. Up to 80% of the items can be refurbished, rather than landfilled. The other 20% is sent onto other organisations which in turn re-use the materials in other ways, further contributing to the circular economy and avoiding landfill.

Review Your Business Waste

Electrical items are just one of several waste streams to consider, depending on your business activities. These could also include –

• Paper and cardboard
• Production waste
• Food
• Plastic

A Coral Mountain Sustainability Review includes analysis of waste streams including electrical goods. This is the starting point for turning waste into a revenue stream, providing clear financial benefits and creates marketing opportunities for the company.

Circular Economy

Redirecting waste from landfill into a valuable resource is referred to as the circular economy. There are growing numbers of case studies of companies developing circular processes. One example close to my heart is of a small manufacturing company The Saltwater Brewery in Florida.

Using the waste husks from hops, they developed six-pack rings for their beer cans which are edible for marine life, thus creating an exciting product and solving more than one problem. As well as no longer needing to purchase damaging plastic which poses a threat to turtles and other marine creatures, the process also mitigated their waste disposal costs. This YouTube clip explains more here. 

Empowering your employees to review the company’s waste is just one step to becoming green. There is much more to becoming truly environmentally responsible. It’s a staged process; Starting with some ‘easy wins’ will motivate everyone to become involved.

Call or email me at Coral Mountain today on (0113) 289 2208 and we can start taking about how easy it is to take charge of your environmental impact.

I'm running an introductory taster seminar on Sustainability in The Workplace, for business leaders on March 30th and October 25th. To book you place or get details, call (0113) 289 2208.