One of the largest processors of waste electric and electronic equipment or WEEE is claiming that unless the United Kingdom increases its efforts to recycle small WEEE, then they will fall significantly short of the recycling goals outlined by the European Union Directive. Viridor Electrical Recycling, which is one of the largest recycling companies in the United Kingdom, says that public awareness about the recycling of smaller WEEE devices needs to be raised if the UK is to hit its target.
Most people around the world end up recycling larger electrical and electronic devices such as refrigerators, microwaves, and televisions. However, smaller devices like cell phones, radios, and remote controls often go unnoticed by consumers, and end up in the landfill instead of the recycling plant. The company hopes that the government of the United Kingdom will ramp up advertising campaigns to remind people that the bulk of their household items are capable of being recycled.
This issue came to the forefront when it was speculated that the European Union would change the nature of the directive from a weight based initiative to a market based goals which would be higher and more difficult to reach. While most of the larger items like televisions and refrigerators end up being recycled, which makes it easier to make weight goals, more market based goals would require specific items to be recycled.
Currently the EU requires a goal of four kilograms of recycled items per person, a goal most countries have easily been able to meet. The new requirements, which would be market based, would require countries to nearly double their collection rates.
|
|
