Government launches ‘Electronic waste and the circular economy’ inquiry – you can respond

“The UK produces more e-waste than the EU average. We are missing EU targets and are one of the worst offenders for exporting waste to developing countries, who are ill equipped to dispose of it in a socially and environmentally responsible way,” said Environmental Audit Committee chair Mary Creagh MP. “New phone launches, cheaper goods, and built-in obsolescence have contributed to the growth of electronic waste in recent years. Our old fridges, freezers, computers, TVs, kettles and mobile phones are piling up in a tsunami of e-waste.”

Globally, according to the committee, 44.7 million tonnes of e-waste was produced in 2017, 90% of which landfilled, incinerated, illegally traded or treated in a sub-standard way. Europe and the US account for almost half of all e-waste globally, with the EU predicted to produce 12 million tonnes by 2020.

“Our attitude to e-waste is unsustainable and the need for radical action clear,” said Creagh. “We will be investigating the UK’s e-waste industry and looking at how we can create a circular economy for electronic goods.”

The committee is seeking written evidence on some or all of the following points, to the Electronic Waste and the Circular Economy inquiry page, by 5pm 16 August.

Implementing a Circular Economy for Electronic Goods

• What steps are being taken to move towards a circular economy for electronic goods? How can the UK Government support this transition?
• What is the environmental and human health risk from e-waste? How significant is it and who is most at risk?
• How can secondary markets for electrical goods be improved? What incentives are required to implement these markets?
• Why does recovering materials from electronic waste pose a significant challenge? What support is required to facilitate the adoption of recovery technologies?

UK’s Electronic Waste Sector

• Are UK waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) collection targets achievable? What challenges do UK producer compliance schemes and WEEE reprocessors face in meeting the collection targets?
• What causes fraud in the UK’s e-waste system? How can this be addressed?
• What action can the UK Government take to prevent to the illegal export of e-waste to the developing world?
• What proposals does the UK Government need to consider as part of its consultation on WEEE?
• Is UK public awareness of e-waste recycling satisfactory? If not, how can it be improved?

Facts and figures from the committee:

Electronic waste is worth at least $62.5bn annually, the equivalent of the GDP of Kenya, largely from value of incorporated gold, silver, copper, platinum and palladium.

Crude recycling techniques in the developing world, such as burning products to harvest the valuable metals, exposes workers to toxic substances and carcinogens. “A recent report from Agbogbloshie, Ghana linked toxins from e-waste to the contamination of chicken eggs with dioxins and PCBs”, according to the committee – Agbogbloshie is a scrap yard and slum where 80,000 residents primarily subsist by retrieving metals from e-waste, some of which originated in Europe.

Despite a ban on e-waste exports to developing countries, 1.3 million tonnes of undocumented goods are exported from the EU each year. In February, the UK was ranked as the worst offender in the EU by the Basel Action Network. Following the report’s findings, the Environment Agency closed down four illegal waste operators in the UK.

Some countries in Africa and Asia are becoming key destinations for e-waste dumping. The UN has called for binding agreements on the classification of waste and stronger national legislation and enforcement. In May countries were unable to reach agreement on proposals for sustainable e-waste management under the Basel Convention. These will be reviewed again in 2021.

The UK produces 24.9kg of e-waste per person, higher than the EU average of 17.7kg. Electronic waste in the UK is managed under the EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013.

A collective producer responsibility scheme exists. This means producers have a financial responsibility for the end-of-life of their goods, calculated by market share, but do not have to reprocess their own goods. Collections are carried out via household waste recycling centres and take back schemes run by retailers or local authorities. Defra sets annual targets for the collection of WEEE across a range of categories.

These are calculated based on the WEEE Directive’s target of 65% of the average annual weight of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market over the previous three years. The target for 2019 has been set at 550,577 tonnes, a 12% increase on 2018 levels. The UK missed its WEEE collection target by 45,000 tonnes in 2018.

The Government has committed to publishing a review of the 2013 WEEE Regulations this year and consulting on changing WEEE by the end of 2020. This consultation will consider incentives for sustainable product design and increased recycling. It has also committed £8m in funding over the next three years to support research, behaviour change and local projects to boost reuse and recycling.