New legislation is set to boost the levels of reuse and recycling in electrical goods. Community businesses have a big role to play in helping companies reduce costs and meet legal responsibilities.
All the UK mobile network operators, 02, Vodafone, Orange, Virgin and TMobile, have teamed up with Dixons Group in a major mobile phone recycling scheme. Launched on September 24, the joint initiative aims to recycle the growing mountain of 15m mobile phones replaced each year in the UK and their accessories. A percentage of the phones will be sold on to brokers for distribution in selected low-income countries.
Co-ordinated by Shields Environmental, the nationwide scheme will comply with current legislation and the forthcoming WEEE Directive (waste electrical and electronic equipment). This requires mobile phone producers and distributors to take back and recycle three quarters of old handsets in an environmentally efficient way from next year. The intention is to reuse phones where possible, and otherwise recycle them.
The scheme compliments individual recycling programmes run by each of the four UK mobile operators. Vodafone, for example, launched a handset recycling scheme in May, with the money raised through the reused phones going to support Fauna & Flaura International, the environmental charity. It is already half way to meeting its £100,000 target. Contact Sarah Bond, Shields Environmental, on 01708 684000 (http://www.fonebak.com)
As electric goods producers prepare for the WEEE directive, new research suggests that remarketing in fact offers domestic appliance manufacturers a profitable avenue for the disposal of their used goods, with a potential worldwide market of £235m.
WEEE Remarket: an investigation into the remarketing of white goods, published by DARP Environmental on September 6, finds that over 23m household appliances are discarded every year, with the rate of disposal increasing by 16-28% every five years – the fastest rate in Europe. DARP says more research and support from manufacturers is needed, including training, specialist equipment and encouragement for the remarketing industry. Contact Lorie Randall, DARP, on 01392 262365 (http://www.darpenvironmental.com)
More than £24m worth of UK surplus supplies and equipment from 500 companies has been redistributed to charities over the last five years, rather than sent to landfill sites, thanks to In Kind Direct. Formerly Gifts In Kind UK, the charity says in its annual report that many more UK companies could both improve their environmental impact and deal with bulky surplus produce by offering any unwanted printers, photocopiers, fax machines, business supplies, stationery or software for collection.
Meanwhile, Community Re>Paint – the network funded by Biffaward, ICI Dulux, and the Community Fund to divert surplus paint to community groups and charities – launched its 50th scheme on August 7 in Barnet, London. Over 300 million litres of paint are sold in the UK each year. Approximately 37.5m litres from DIY customers and 2.5m litres of trade paint remain unused each year, tending to be stored and then dumped in landfill. Contact Lindsay Swan, In Kind Direct, on 020 7204 5003 (http://www.inkinddirect.org)
The government has appointed members of the UK packaging industry, including representatives from Coca- Cola, Dixons and Rexam Glass, to a new restructured Advisory Committee on Packaging, it was announced on September 10. The executives will advise the government on producer responsibility for packaging waste and in particular, how best to achieve higher levels of recycling. Contact Chris Scholey, Rexam Glass, on 0202 7227 4100 (http://www.defra.gov.uk)
Alcoa has established a new corporate recycling usage goal, aiming to make 50% of Alcoa products from recycled aluminium by 2020, it was announced on September 30. The company is calling for the Aluminium Association to adopt a more ambitious approach to sustainable development. Contact Jake Siewert, Alcoa, on 00 1 212 836 2733 (http://www.alcoa.com)
The Co-op is providing Britain’s first 100% biodegradable plastic carrier bag, in an effort to reduce landfill waste. The bags, which are currently being piloted in selected stories, can be programmed to decompose after anything from 6 weeks to sixty years. Contact Martin Henderson, The Co-op, on 0161 827 5292 (http://www.co-op.co.uk)
The UK’s first battery recycling project is to open in Bristol in September. The zinc, lead and cadmium from batteries reclaimed from household waste will be extracted for recycling at the Britannia Zinc-owned plant at Avonmouth. If successful the DTI is likely to roll out the scheme. Contact Mike Holbrook, Britannia Zinc, on 0117 9802 517 (http://www.bzl.co.uk)
COMMENT:
Activist campaigning has typically focused on individual brands. The reasons for so doing are obvious enough. It increases the chances of publicity, it keeps the campaign message simple, and – most importantly – it’s premised on the idea that the vilified company has a responsibility to take action. The private sector has typically adopted a similar individualistic approach. Even the Global Reporting Initiative, which is pushing for a cross-industry standard, focuses exclusively on single company reports.
Yet the issues companies are grappling with – and which the campaigners are calling on them to resolve – often lie way beyond the capacity of any single company. There are also very real limitations to what an individual company can do in a competitive environment, where disproportionate costs will render a company’s economic model unsustainable.
So the move by the mining and extractive industries, initiated over two years ago, to look collectively at the macro issue of sustainable development is a welcome sight. The final report makes interesting reading in that it provides an integrated framework and vision for the mineral sector as a whole. The call for collective action and co-operation opens the door for similar industry level initiatives in the future.
COMMENTS