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WASTE HANDLING Recognising the hidden value of Europe's WEEE There is still a long way to go for Europe to recognise WEEE (waste electronic and electrical equipment) as an asset rather than 'waste', argues WEEE Forum's Philip Morton. Here, he discusses the challenges facing European waste collection and how the WEEE Forum plans to tackle this. t is well known that Europe is becoming increasingly reliant on electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). Whilst this is great news for the buoyant industry, the recent recast of the WEEE Directive means that there is more pressure than ever on member states to comply with high targets for the take-back and recycling of end of life EEE. The WEEE Directive states that manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, retailers and distributors of EEE are responsible for the take- back and recycling of their end-of-life products. WEEE is now the fastest growing waste stream, increasing every year by 5%. Illegal exports Only about a third of European WEEE is captured and reported through official channels. According to WEEE Forum estimates, this equates to six million tonnes of WEEE that is not properly accounted for. Some may be properly treated within Europe but simply not recorded, but unknown quantities leak out, often to developing countries and often illegally. Illegal exports of WEEE present environmental problems for the recipient developing countries as much of it cannot be reused and the recycling facilities are often unregulated. Also, improper processing tech- niques can result in environmental pollution, negative health effects and the loss of valuable resources. Unlikely asset Even where WEEE is collected and treated in a responsible way according to best practice, the UK and rest of Europe hasn't fully established the systems and technologies needed to recover critical raw materials from WEEE, end of life vehicles and batteries. In fact, the WEEE Forum estimates that this recovery rate is less than 1%, with a recovery rate for precious metals less than 15%. The European recycling industry is instead centred on recycling high volume materials such as steel, plastics, aluminium and copper. This is understandable and needs to continue but an additional focus is required on the lower volume, scarce elements too. Europe relies heavily on countries such as China for precious metals. However, the demand of the internal Chinese economy means that demand for minerals and precious metals is also growing and supply can fluctuate. It is therefore becoming increasing- ly essential that Europe retains con- trol of its own resources and becomes more independent. It is more impor- tant than ever to invest in long term recycling innovation. Mapping the way Whilst the full amount of trace materials found in WEEE is still not completely quantified, innovative ways are needed to improve both the collection and separation of WEEE and novel industrial processes require development and investment. To underline the importance of this need for a positive change, the WEEE Forum and a broad range of partners from industry, academia, municipalities etc. recently applied for and have been granted funding from Horizon 2020's Research and Innovation Programme to Prospect 16 Local Authority Waste & Recycling February 2015 I

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