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9 Charged over WEEE
May 9, 2013 | 
Author Nine people have been charged in what was the biggest investigation ever into illegal electrical waste exports from the UK to West Africa.
All nine have been charged with offences under the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007 and European Waste Shipment Regulations 2006 and bailed to attend Havering Magistrates Court on November 11.
As we should all be aware of the WEEE regulations. We should therefore know that it is illegal for UK businesses to send electronic waste abroad to be dumped.
Officers from the Environment Agency’s National Crime Team began their investigations in the middle of 2008. They claim to have uncovered a network of individuals, waste companies and export businesses involved in the export of electrical waste.
In some instances, it is alleged by the agency that ‘considerable sums’ of money changed hands in deals to collect and recycle electrical waste while treatment costs were avoided. And this is a crime under WEEE regulations.
There’s also evidence of the waste being dumped in Africa, illegally. The companies who are allegedly involved potentially avoided having to pay huge fees.
The Agency’s crime team manager, Andy Higham, has said: “Over the past two years painstaking intelligence work by Environment Agency officers has uncovered a web of individuals and companies that appear to be making considerable sums of money by exporting electrical waste overseas.”
Exporters of broken electricals put at risk the lives of those who work on waste sites in developing countries.
These are often children who are paid a pittance to dismantle products containing hazardous waste.
Illegal exporters also avoid the costs of recycling in the UK and undermine law-abiding business.
It is always a crime to export broken electrical equipment and hazardous waste from the UK to developing countries to be dumped.
The last thing we want is our waste causing harm to people or the environment overseas.
We at Go Green can help ensure that you are complying with your legal responsibilities. At Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
Waste Management
Waste Management
Waste management companies exist to assist business with the challenge of industrial waste. As you can imagine some areas generate more waste than others and those that generate a lot in the course of their business usually find it more cost effective to have someone else deal with it.
This topic covers a broad spectrum. It is a term often used to describe the management of a variety of waste, usually collected, treated, processed, recycled, reused or disposed of by a department of the local authority.
As people produce more and more waste, partly as a result of more and more packaging being used for our produce, our waste management services are becoming more sophisticated and better able to deal with the problem.
In industry there is a growing need for waste management services, some specialising in certain aspects of it and others attempting to be all things to all companies. Those who specialise in certain areas tend to deliver a better service as they can fine tune their expertise into a narrow and clearly defined area.
Industries such as the oil industry or chemical industry need waste management services who can respond to a given situation 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Often their waste management needs involve coping with an unexpected emergency, an oil or dangerous chemical spill, for example.
Waste management services trained and expert in dealing with the treatment and disposal of hazardous waste is invaluable to these industries. They will most likely have licensed facilities for the treatment and transfer of contaminated waste and the personnel trained and experienced to carry out the operation.
The first line of defence against an emergency spill can be the use of skimming equipment to try and recover the spill. Booms and dispersants as well as absorbents and may also be used. Waste can be transferred from the site to a holding facility using appropriate waste transfer vehicles.
The industries that can suffer heavily by a serious waste problem rely heavily on the expertise and experience of professional waste management services. Their emergency response teams can contain, collect and treat hazardous waste in the fastest possible time, thereby rendering the situation as safe as possible as quickly as possible.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive all give useful guidance on the regulations governing the storage of hazardous waste in the UK. All service providers have to operate under these regulations and each one should be a registered waste carrier and usually also having a facility with an appropriate permit for accepting and treating hazardous waste, as well as its possible disposal.
Waste management services provide an invaluable backup service to a variety of industries that have come to depend on them for the necessary support and assistance they need when it comes to collecting, recovering, treating, recycling, reusing and disposing of waste. Waste has paradoxically become big business for the companies who have chosen to specialise in it.
Who handles your waste management?
From October 2010 SEPA can now request the waste management records of all business, from the accountants office to the North Sea oil companies.
At Be Seen Go Green we can help on a variety of environmental issues which may affect you, including your compliance responsibilities.
To find out more contact us www.beseengogreen.eu
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Reasons for Recycling electronic gadgets like PC’s
Obsolete computers or other electronics are a valuable source for secondary raw materials, if treated properly; if not treated properly, they are a source of toxins and carcinogens. Rapid technology change, low initial cost, and even planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing surplus of computer or other electronic components around the globe. Technical solutions are available, but in most cases a legal framework, a collection system, logistics, and other services need to be implemented before a technical solution can be applied. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, an estimated 30 to 40 million surplus PCs, which it classifies under the term “hazardous household waste”, will be ready for end-of-life management in each of the next few years. It is estimated that 75% of all personal computers ever sold are now surplus electronics.
Many materials used in the construction of computer hardware can be recovered in the recycling process for use in future production. Reuse of tin, silicon, iron, aluminum, and a variety of plastics — all present in bulk in computers or other electronics — can reduce the costs of constructing new systems. In addition, components frequently contain copper, gold, and other materials valuable enough to reclaim in their own right.
A major computer or electronic recycling concern is export of waste to countries with lower environmental standards. Companies may find it cost-effective in the short term to sell outdated computers to less developed countries with lax regulations. It is commonly believed that a majority of surplus laptops are routed to developing nations as “dumping grounds for e-waste”. The high value of working and reusable laptops, computers, and components (e.g., RAM) can help pay the cost of transportation for a large number of worthless “commodities”. Broken monitors, obsolete circuit boards, and short-circuited transistors are difficult to spot in a containerload of used electronics.
At Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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What small scale manufacturers and retailers need to know about WEEE
What small scale manufacturers and retailers must know about WEEE:
Glasgow based, indeed UK based, manufacturers and retailers of electronic equipment have been slow to catch on to their WEEE obligations. As this is the fastest growing area of waste in the UK it’s imperative that they take on board what they are legally obliged to do.
The environment agency does not differentiate between size of companies. For example a PC retailer could put together a single PC for a client on a bespoke basis. Under the WEEE directive this retailer now has obligations under the producer (manufacturer) regulations. They must join a producers scheme, take back the clients’ old PC (all retailers must offer a take back scheme on a like for like basis), and have the WEEE recycled at their expense and not their clients’.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Union aims at minimization of the impact of Electrical Waste (discarded or end-of-life electrical or electronic equipment – EEE), on the environment by increasing re-use and recycling and reducing the amount of WEEE going to landfills. It is closely linked to the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive 2002/95/EC which seeks to limit the presence of six hazardous materials in electrical and electronic equipment.
There are 10 categories of electronic waste or e-waste that fall under the WEEE Directive, plus a further 2 which fall under RoHS, large and small household appliances, infact any sort of electical or electronic product. E-waste in this directive means electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) designed for use with voltage ratings of up to 1000V ac or 1500V dc. Hence manufacturers of all electronic goods used in day to day life, fall under the purview of the directive. Since the consequences of non-compliance are serious (including possible ban on doing business in EU countries), manufacturers need to be conversant with the WEEE and the related RoHS directives.
The WEEE Directive seeks to minimize the environmental impact of e-waste by mandating its collection, treatment, recovery and/or recycling to be facilitated and financed by producers. It also proposes that consumers be able to return their waste equipment free of charge. Manufacturers, therefore, need to assess the impact of these requirements and initiate appropriate action for implementation.
This involves setting up collection centers for e-waste, arrangements for transportation to the recovery and/or recycling centers, facilities for recycling and determination of final disposal options, all at the manufacturers expense.
Recovery and recycling of electronic waste is specialist work, recycling plants must conform to minimum standards.
It is very important for a manufacturer to also understand the importance of certain pre-sales actions which must also be adhered to in order to meet compliance of the WEEE regulations.
For Example:
Design equipment which can be dismantled into the smallest possible parts and components. This will facilitate recovery of the parts for reuse; a more economical proposition than say, recycling.
Ensure labeling of products is in line with the requirements of the WEEE Directive including a “Do Not Landfill” note.
Reduction of hazardous material content in the product greatly reduces the need for expensive recovery efforts. It also contributes to overall environmental conservation. For this reason, the importance of RoHS compliance of products and processes cannot be over emphasized. The sooner manufacturers recognize this fact; the better their profits will be long term.
Further, the WEEE Directive is based on Article 175 of the EC (European Community) Treaty – the Treaty establishing the European Union. This allows member states to include additional products as long as they countries adhere to European Community laws governing overall trade and commerce within and beyond the EU. Manufacturers must stay informed of more environmentally sound practices and current WEEE changes. They also need to be aware of the implication of such changes on their businesses.
At Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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New Plastic Recycling Discovery!
A new method has been devised to recycle plastic which would normally end up in landfill.
At persent approximately 12% of plastic found in household plastic and packaging is currently processed.
Now, however, a process has been developbed by Warwick University which could mean 100% of this type is waste can be recycled.
Municipal plastic solid waste is often too time-consuming and labour intensive to separate and clean and ends up going straight to landfill rather than being recycled.
Engineers at the University have invented a process that can cope with every piece of plastic waste and can even break some polymers, such as polystyrene, back down to its original monomers.
The researchers have devised a unit which uses pyrolysis (using heat in the absence of oxygen to decompose of materials) in a ‘fluidised bed’ reactor.
Tests have shown that the researchers have been able to literally shovel in to such a reactor a wide range of mixed plastics, which can then be reduced down to useful products. Many of these products can then be retrieved by simple distillation.
The products the Warwick team have been able to reclaim from the plastic mix include: wax that can be then used a lubricant; original monomers such as styrene that can be used to make new polystyrene; terephthalic acid which can be reused in PET plastic products, methylmetacrylate that can be used to make acrylic sheets, carbon which can be used as Carbon Black in paint pigments and tyres, and even the char left at the end of some of the reactions can be sold to use as activated carbon at a value of at least £400 a tonne.
This research could have a significant impact on the budgets of local authorities and produce considerable environmental benefits.
The lead researcher on the project, University of Warwick Engineering Professor Jan Baeyens, said:
“We envisage a typical large scale plant having an average capacity of 10,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year.
“In a year tankers would take away from each plant over £5 million worth of recycled chemicals and each plant would save £500,000 a year in land fill taxes alone.
“As the expected energy costs for each large plant would only be in the region of £50,000 a year the system will be commercially very attractive and give a rapid payback on capital and running costs.”
The work will be of great interest to local authorities and waste disposal companies who could use the technology to create large scale reactor units at municipal tips which would produce tanker loads of reusable material.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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What Makes a Home a Green Home?
What Makes a Home a Green House?
One of the hottest topics today is about being environmentally friendly. There are many ways to become environmentally friendly about the home including water preservation and energy reduction. This not only helps with a positive action by reducing your impact on the environment, but will also save you money!
Lets take a look at what makes a home green.
Reduced Energy Use
Energy comes in many forms such as electricity, natural gas, oil, etc. The creation or use of this energy results in greenhouse gas emissions that affect our planet in a negative way.
Methods of Reducing Energy Usage
Insulation, One of the best things that you can do to make a green home is to ensure that the walls, windows, attic, and floors are all well insulated and draft free. The majority of the energy used in a home goes towards heating the house. Insulation will prevent the air temperature from escaping the home and save you money on your utilities.
Energy Star Appliances When one of your appliances has reached it’s end of life, or when you are building a new home, consider installing an appliance that meets energy star requirements. This will ensure that it will use over 30 percent less electricity or fuel than a typical appliance of that type.
Other options include advanced mechanical Systems On demand tankless water heaters, geothermal HVAC equipment, and even solar power is a great way to reduce the amount of energy that is wasted to run the plumbing, heat and air, and electrical systems in the home. While they can have a higher upfront cost than a typical unit of its kind, tax incentives from the government can offset a good deal of the extra cost and allow you to make the money back within a few years time.
Reduced Water Use
Water is another essential resource that can be preserved in our day to day use around the house.
Low Flow Fixtures Many low flow shower heads and toilets developed a bad reputation in the past because they could not live up to their less efficient counterparts. Fortunately, todays better engineered models and aerators allow you to experience the luxury and ease of use that you prefer, while additionally using a significantly lower amount of water.
Efficient Clothes Washers Many of the newer front loading clothes washers use as little as half of the water of a typical top loading washer. For families who are constantly putting in a new load of dirty clothes, this can lead to a significant savings in cost and water usage over time.
Use Rain Water For Irrigation For those who want to really cut down on water usage, storage tanks that collect rain water during a storm for latter use to water the garden and lawn can save thousands of gallons over the span of a summer.
These are just a few of the many ideas out there that will help ensure that your home is green. Environmentally friendly decisions in the home can lead to wallet friendly results over time and allow for the satisfaction of knowing you are reducing your negative impact on the planet.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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Why Recycle My Computer?
Electronic rubbish, and computer equipment in particular, is a rapidly expanding stream of UK waste. Low prices allow consumers to replace “gadgets” often, and rapid technological change means there are always newer, better, more powerful products on the market. The result is a burgeoning computer waste mountain. For example up to 30 million “obsolete” PCs are discarded annually in the USA alone.
Why is it important to recycle computer equipment?
Also known as e-waste, discarded computer equipment comprises monitors, printers, hard drives and circuit boards. Such items should on no account be thrown out with your household rubbish because they contain toxic substances, and are effectively hazardous waste. E-waste often ends up in the developing world, and the UN’s Environment Programme is alarmed by the amount of electronic goods which is improperly disposed of overseas. There is increasing concern about the pollution caused by hazardous chemicals and heavy metals in Africa, Asia and South America.
| What’s in my PC? | |
| Material | Proportion |
| Plastic Ferrous metals Non-ferrous metals Electronic boards Glass |
23% 32% 18% 12% 15% |
A single computer can contain up to 2kg of lead, and the complex mixture of materials make PCs very difficult to recycle.
This is why the WEEE regulations came in to being, imagine what would happen if we continued to send
the above to landfill?
At Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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Recycling: It Really Is Simple, Try It
There are actually a lot of things that we can recycle: Electrical & Electronic equipment, Water, Energy, Paper, Metal, Aluminium Cans, Glass, Plastic, Styrofoam, Steel, & even junk mail. All of these things, as you know, could end up in a landfill or even worse, in the ocean.
The basics of Recycling is to collect items that have been used and reprocess. Allowing them to be used againand again; simple?
Of course you don’t do this yourself, or could you? When people recycle, pretty much means that energy is saved. When a manufacturing company decides to make new stuff out of old stuff, it saves a lot of energy. A good example of this would be the recycling of cardboard, used in hospital bedpans for example; all of the carboard in the bedpans is recycled & can be recycled again.
By Recycling you not only make this planet a better place to live, but also reduce pollution & improve environmental conditions. By simply recycling as much as we can, you help prevent the global climate change, reduce greenhouse gases and cut the amount of fuel used!
By doing all this, it leads to us and companies saving natural resources. For example: If the all the tabloid newspapers were to recycle all of the newspapers that they print every single day, there wouldn’t be the need to cut & kill a thousand trees a day.
Trees in different rain forests are being cut down at an alarming rate, according to some researchers we could see no more trees left in a few years time, though how accurate that statement is I do not know, but it stands to reason that if you continue to take more than you put back eventually you will be left with nothing. This is the same with all fossil fuels as well.
Not only are you helping the world, but you’re saving money!
It is expensive to start production on new products with new materials, manufacturers are going to want that money reimbursed so they can continue making the expensive products. When you buy things that are recycled, it’s obviously cheaper to make, though the marketeers of the large manufacturers would have us believe otherwise, greenwashing at it’s worst! In effect we should be able to buy recycled goods for a low price. Even when you think about it, all the waste & rubbish that isn’t recycled is taking up space in landfills, which are fast becoming full.
Whatever you may think about recycling, be it, in your opinion, another “hippie” movement, at be motivated to do your part, the alternatives, fines for not recycling and destruction of our world as we know it, it unthinkable. No One is saying you have to become obsessed with it, all that is being suggested is that every little bit you can do is a step in the right direction. The Earth has provided a place to live, grow food, provide raw materials, it’s our turn to think and act responsibly to ensure it continues to do so for future generations.
Recycling is simple, whether it be at home or in the office. Take a look around and look at how much waste that is “thrown” in the bin. Almost all office waste can be recycled simply, it just needs someone like you to get the ball rolling and it won’t just be the environment that benefits.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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Computer Retailers & Manufacturers Need To Be More Responsible
Computer Aid International has called for companies involved with IT to be more responsible for the environmental cost of their products.
The organisation has produced a report: Green ICT: what producers must do, blaming original equipment manufacturers for poor practice and pollution in production.
A manufacturer, in terms of The WEEE Directive, is any company who builds computers, ranging from your Joe Bloggs PC retailer in the high street to the Multinationals such as Dell, they are both treated equally!
They say that manufacturers need to take responsibility for the entire life-cycle of their products.
The report argues that most environmental damage of computing happens during manufacturing; for instance, 80% of the energy used over a PC’s lifecycle is used before it is switched on for the first time.
The report cites mining materials and the excessive use of toxic chemicals in production as the source of the enormous carbon footprint made by manufacturing and its global sourcing and distribution chains.
Computer Aid International CEO Tony Roberts said: “In Europe all ICT manufactures including HP, Samsung, Nokia, Apple, and small independants have a legal duty to fund the end of life recycling of equipment that they produced.
“Within Europe manufacturers fulfil this requirement of corporate social responsibility and are justifiably proud of their green credentials.
“However we would argue that they have exactly the same moral obligations where their products are sold in Africa, Asia and elsewhere.
“Most developing countries are entirely without the kind of facilities necessary to re-use and recycle ICTs and to recover the precious metals and other composite materials before they pollute the environment and threaten public health and safety.”
The report calls for producers to be responsible for the end-of-life management of their goods in all countries they operate in, not just in rich developed countries, so that all nations can build the operational capacity to re-use IT equipment and to recycle e-waste.
It says producers need to shift the cost of toxic, wasteful design away from communities and the environment back to themselves.
They call for producers to be forced to include the real costs of their goods through wide-ranging programmes that encourage eco-design
To find out how the WEEE directive affects you, whether you’re an end user, retailer or manufacturer, contact Be Seen Go Geen for advice and help
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WEEE Compliance, there is no option
The purpose of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive is to reduce the environmental impact of electronic waste. The WEEE directive protects landfills and regulates the disposal of end-of-life electrical or electronic equipment (EEE) also known as e-waste. The related RoHS Directive strives to limit the use of six hazardous materials in the manufacture of electronic equipment.
The WEEE Directive provides guidelines for the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment. The “polluter pays” principle means collection and recovery is largely at the manufacturer’s expense. Specified products include such things as large and small household appliances, IT and telecommunications equipment, consumer equipment, IT and telecommunications equipment.
Reduction of hazardous material content in products at the manufacturing stage will reduce the content of such pollutants in electronic waste. This will enhance the economic feasibility of recycling. Hence RoHS compliance, which in any case is needed for doing business in the EU, is the first important element for any effective recycling. Increased efforts to design products that facilitate recycling of WEEE components and materials are extremely beneficial.
Recycling is one of several waste disposal options. Its effectiveness depends, to a large extent on the type of material to be recycled and the availability of appropriate technology. E-waste such as a computer can be discarded by the original users, but it may still be perfectly functional equipment. In this case material recovery and reuse is a better alternative than recycling. In fact the reuse of waste electrical and electronic equipment is the preferred economic option.
Recycling is technology and material specific. It is mandatory to collect electronic waste separately from municipal waste. While primary administrative responsibility lies with the state, manufacturers have an important role in educating customers on proper waste disposal. The WEEE directive mandates collection of electronic waste at the manufacturer’s cost. Manufacturers must not only ensure that convenient collection points are set up for consumers but must also make provisions for the transportation of the waste materials to the recycling plant.
The WEEE directive mandates that recycling sites should conform to certain minimum standards to prevent adverse environmental impact when treating waste EEE. In most cases, it will not be feasible for a single manufacturer to operate its own recycling center.
Throughout the WEEE recovery chain, producers are required to finance the cost of e-waste collection from consumers; transportation to the recycling center; treatment; recovery and disposal. Producers will generally need to collaborate with other manufacturers to collectively bear the cost for the recycling and waste disposal obligations.
The WEEE and the RoHS are here to stay and further strengthening of environmental regulations is inevitable. One such step is the impending Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH), regulations which beacme effective from June 1, 2007 within the European Union. The REACH regulation will control the use of a very wide range of chemicals and is not limited only to the electronics sector.
With these legislations it is important to adopt a proactive approach, ensuring compliance by producers, distributors and end users alike, of the WEEE electronic recycling directive.
This will surely provide the producers and distributors with increased competitiveness, within a competitive market, differentiating themselves from those who continue to break the law.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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