Much has been achieved in the fifteen years since the implementation of the first Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations in the UK – a national network of collection points operated by local authorities, producers, retailers and many other organisations has been established and in excess of 9.0 million tonnes of WEEE has been collected, treated, recycled and recovered.
15 year milestone for WEEE sector
To mark this sector milestone, Environcom is lending it support and pedal power to REPIC as it undertakes a 15-day, 15 location, 15 great stories, WEEE Cycle Network Event, from Friday 2nd June – Friday 16th June 2023.
REPIC recognises that the sector’s achievement to date is due to organisations that, although competitors, have worked together constructively to find solutions to any challenges.
To reflect on the 15 years and how the landscape has changed since the WEEE Regulations first started operating in 2007. The first WEEE Cycle Network event will see REPIC and friends from the sector start from Alness, in mainland Scotland and cycle to Sittingbourne, a distance of over 850 miles and visiting 15 different locations involved daily in the reuse, repair and recycling of waste electricals.
Celebrating 15 great stories along the route, and joining up a network of AATFs, Local Authority sites, repair and reuse initiatives, this event will also provide the opportunity to look forward to what lies ahead in both the forthcoming WEEE consultation and the transition to a more circular economy.
Lending our support to the WEEE Cycle event
Environcom is hosting and participating on days 11 and 12 of the WEEE Cycle Network Event and Jon Parsons (Environcom CFO) will cycle as part of the peloton over 75 miles from Doncaster to our facilities in Grantham and then he will be joined by Charles Gill (Finance Asst) the next day from Environcom Grantham to Peterborough a further 55 miles on 12th June.
Commenting on the challenge, Cris Stephenson CEO of Environcom, said: “We are delighted to be invited to participate in this sector event to mark the 15-year anniversary of the WEEE Regulations in the UK. Environcom is the largest white goods reuse operation in the UK and also recycles over 600,00 fridges a year. It’s great we to come together collectively to mark this milestone and we must all look forward to the future success of the WEEE sector.
“We’ll be sending the peloton off from Environcom with our warm wishes and fuelled ready for the cycling challenge that lies ahead.”
The trends in the flow of EEE and WEEE identified in new research essay
To complement the WEEE Cycle Network event, REPIC has also published a research essay. The essay, titled: “Looking Back to Look Forward” highlights the rapidly changing landscape and key events which have influenced EEE placed on the market (POM) and WEEE available for collection over the last 15 years.
Despite the upward trend in the amount of EEE placed on the market, and increases in WEEE collection targets, most notably in 2017, the amount of WEEE made available for collection has not increased. A review of the data from the last 15 years illustrates the non-linear relationship between the two and the reasons for this. It also considers how WEEE arises and is collected, and activities that take place away from the WEEE system.
Commenting on the essay, Louise Grantham, Chief Executive at REPIC, adds: “Understanding the past is essential if we are to plan for the future. We need to know how much WEEE is likely to arise, who will be collecting it, required treatment capacity and types of technology needed to treat it and the resources (materials) that will be generated from treatment.”
REPIC has made the essay: “Looking Back to Look Forward” available to all, free of charge, from the Resource Hub on its website at repic.co.uk.