Frequently Asked Questions

What is WEEE

WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) is the term used to define redundant / faulty electronic equipment waste produced within the UK. The WEEE directive 2007 regulations define how WEEE needs to be handled, transported, refurbished and recycled.

WEEE is a rapidly inflating waste stream due to increasingly more people and organisations becoming dependant on what technology can offer along with the fact that new technology outdates its predecessor within a very small-time scale. Technology is the fastest developing sector in the world, with new revisions being created before the latest products are even available for sale. This leads to a fast turnaround in electronic equipment, so everyone can keep up and not get left behind. WEEE falls into the following categories:

Why Recycle

Environmentally friendly recycling of your redundant / faulty IT systems is essential to promote a good sustainable impression on others & to have a positive impact on the world in which we live.

Recycling is extremely important to both the environment and us.

The amount of WEEE computer waste we create is constantly increasing due to:

• Rapidly evolving computer technology. IT equipment must be upgraded quickly to stay up to date which of course is producing increasing amounts of WEEE PC waste
• Items are reused less and less – IT devices are simply considered by both end users and manufacturers as single-use devices. Manufacturers aren’t embedding factory reset techniques
• The population is increasing which increases the amount of IT equipment in use and being disposed of.
• The capabilities of IT are advancing extremely fast which means more people are becoming dependant on it
• IT hardware is rarely considered for repair anymore. Once it is broken, a new item is purchased
• IT hardware is becoming increasingly affordable making it more widely used and disposed of

The environmental importance of IT computer recycling is high with negative impacts of non-compliance:

• Hazardous chemicals such as lead, mercury and arsenic are released into the water system if IT equipment is improperly disposed of
• If IT equipment isn’t reused, it increases the amount of IT hardware disposed of and new hardware being manufactured
• WEEE waste is illegally exported to developing countries where valuable metals are burnt out of the systems with the remaining waste left to contaminate the environment. Developing countries simply don’t have the resources in place to recycle such hardware
• A large amount of energy is used when manufacturing new IT hardware. Recycling requires much less energy and therefore preserves natural resources
• The landfill sites are becoming more and more congested

The significant positive effect of computer recycling on people and the economy:

• General recycling incorporating computer hardware disposal is the fastest growing economic sector within the UK providing increasing numbers of jobs
• People with a lower income can afford cheaper hardware
• To developing countries, what we call IT waste is state of the art to them. Providing the computer disposal, data destruction, refurbishment and export proceedings are compliant with legislation then the hardware benefits other countries around the world who cannot afford new systems
• Increased positive sense of environmental sustainability throughout the nation
• The sale of refurbished hardware generates income whereas disposal costs money and often creates unrecyclable waste