How to dispose of your waste electrical & electronic items responsibly
In the UK there is an increased awareness of the need to recycle to protect our environment. Business customers are increasingly adopting corporate social responsibility and environmental policies. This means they will want to be confident that their waste is being disposed of correctly. Contractors who can demonstrate that electrical and hazardous waste is being recycled can use this to their advantage to win new business.
The WEEE regulations require producers of new electrical equipment to finance the collection and recycling of waste electricals. That means electrical contractors, wholesalers and business end-users should in many cases be able to access a free of charge or reduced price WEEE recycling service.
Waste electricals should be stored in a separate container. Many waste electricals, such as fluorescent tubes, are also classified as hazardous, and it is illegal for a business to send hazardous waste to landfill. Electrical contractors and their customers have a duty of care to make sure their waste is disposed of correctly. This applies to all who:
- Produce or store waste.
- Collect and transport waste.
- Receive waste for recycling or disposal.
The environment agencies have reporting procedures in place to control the storage and movement of WEEE, with which businesses must comply.
But there is a downside to not doing the right thing. There is a duty of care for all businesses to ensure that their waste is handed on to an organisation that is authorised to receive that waste. And if a contractor disposes of that waste in an illegal fashion, both they, and their customer could be subject to enforcement action by the Environment Agency.
Help is on hand….
