ISSUE47: SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2007
network of research and training centres/programmes
 |
|
Paul Bonomini's WEEE man – a seven metre tall, 3.3 tonne giant robotic figure made from old televisions, mobile phones and washing machines – represents the amount of waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) that one average person in the UK throws away in a lifetime. |
Report calls for improved
collection, recycling of e-waste
Only about 25 percent of Europe's medium-sized household appliances and 40 percent of larger appliances are collected for salvage and recycling, leaving "substantial room for improvement," according to a study for the European Commission by a UNU-led consortium. Small appliances, with a few exceptions, are close to zero percent collection.
The study predicts that among the 27 European Union member countries, e-waste will rise 2.5 to 2.7 percent a per year from 10.3 million tonnes generated in 2005 (about one-quarter of the world's total) to roughly 12.3 million tonnes by 2020.
"The report's targets, if implemented, would lead to a European harvest of roughly 5.3 million tonnes of e-waste by 2011, up from 2.2 million tonnes today," said study manager Ruediger Kuehr of the UNU office in Bonn.
Improving e-waste collection is also key to preventing toxic pollution. The 660 million energy-saving light bulbs sold in the EU in 2006 contained an estimated 4.3 tonnes of mercury with approximately 2.8 tonnes more contained in LCD panels.
"Consumers need to help control this toxic danger by getting discarded waste to qualified recyclers for proper treatment," said report co-author Dr. Jaco Huisman.
The European Commission contracted UNU to contribute to the 2008 review of Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE). This project was implemented by the Bonn-based European Focal Point of the UNU Zero Emissions Forum, hosted by UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS). Partners were AEA Technology (United Kingdom), Gaiker (Spain), the Regional Environment Centre for Central and Eastern Europe (Hungary) and the Technical University Delft (Netherlands).
© 2007 United Nations University