It is estimated that of the UK’s total of 300 million tonnes of waste produced a year, approximately 940,000 tonnes is WEEE from domestic sources. Many times we have heard the term WEEE with reference to recycling and e-waste. In fact WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and refers to any old electrical items like:
- White goods including small and large household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves and cookers
- ‘Brown goods’ such as coffee makers, toasters and irons
- ICT Equipment such as computers, printers and telephones
- Consumer goods such as TVs, digital TV receiving, equipment, video cassette recorders and music players
- Fluorescent lighting, automatic dispensing machines and control instruments such as thermostats
- Some medical devices such as dialysis machines and laboratory equipment
- Miscellaneous consumer electrical equipment including power tools, electronic toys and smoke detect
According to various studies, the UK produces around 15% of the EU’s total waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE). Since most of the IT equipment contains harmful materials, we need to dispose of them carefully. Failure to recycle or dispose of WEEE waste may pose health and environmental hazardous.
The right way to recycle your e-waste or WEEE is to send them to a recycling plant that works under the WEEE directive. You can find one such e-waste recycler in Recycling Your IT. We not only offer e- waste recycling in line with the WEEE directive, we also offer a complete data wipe service. Our services also come at down to earth rates. If you want to ensure proper recycling for your WEEE, please get in touch with us.