WEEE Directive Compliance

Ecogreen IT Recycling is a UK-based company, with an emphasis on efficient end-to-end recycling of computers and other IT equipment, that serves nationwide.

WEEE Directive

In January 2007, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive was introduced into UK law by the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Regulations 2006. The main aim of this directive is to encourage people to reuse and recycle IT equipment. This, in turn, reduces the total electronic waste being produced. This law allows recyclers to help prolong the life of electrical equipment instead of simply throwing it away and causing harm to the environment. Every year in the UK, the general public disposes of over 1.2 million tonnes of electrical waste. Our overall aim is to reduce this figure.

WEEE is the fastest-growing waste stream in the UK. In order to transport and recycle WEEE waste legally, you must be licensed by the Environment Agency. All companies that offer IT recycling services must hold a Waste Carriers License and an environmental permit or exemption. All WEEE waste that gets collected should be recycled in accordance with the guidance on Best Available Treatment, Recovery and Recycling Techniques (BATRRT) and treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). This ensures that everything is done with optimum efficiency and that everything possible has been done to prolong the life of the equipment.

WEEE is the fastest-growing waste stream in the UK. In order to transport and recycle WEEE waste legally, you must be licensed by the Environment Agency. All companies that offer IT recycling services must hold a Waste Carriers License and an environmental permit or exemption. All WEEE waste that gets collected should be recycled in accordance with the guidance on Best Available Treatment, Recovery and Recycling Techniques (BATRRT) and treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). This ensures that everything is done with optimum efficiency and that everything possible has been done to prolong the life of the equipment.

When collecting and recycling any WEEE waste, it must be accompanied by a Waste Transfer Note stating how many items of each variety have been collected and a rough weight. In case the items with glass displays or acid lead batteries are present, a Hazardous Waste Consignment Note must be provided with the correct EWC Codes in association with the Hazardous Waste Consignment Note.

Ecogreen IT Recycling currently holds a T11 exemption permit which allows us to recycle and refurbish any IT Equipment (hazardous or non-hazardous). We are regularly visited by the Environment Agency to ensure everything is up to the mark.

When a collection has been conducted, you must keep copies of all the WTNs provided by our collection driver for at least two years (three years for Hazardous Waste Consignment Notes). If asked by the local environment or the Environment Agency, you must be able to present these notes as proof that you disposed of your waste legally and efficiently.

Computer IT Recycling at EcoGreen

We are certified to handle hazardous materials and can safely dispose of old computers, monitors and other electronics in our environmentally-friendly facility. We also offer data destruction services, laptop recycling and printer recycling.

Data destruction Services at EcoGreen

You should be aware of the risks associated with data theft. Data destruction services are necessary in order to protect your data from being stolen. We offer complete data destruction services for all sensitive data that must not fall into the wrong hands. We also provide physical shredding services for devices with sensitive documents.

As a growing recycling company, we try to do our best for the environment. These things include:

Waste Hierarchy​

The waste hierarchy is put in place to rank the waste management options according to what is best for the environment. This is done in 5 stages. The first priority is to prevent any waste from being created in the first place. But if it is produced, it is given priority to be prepared for reuse and refurbishment, then recycling, then recovery of valued goods such as parts, and last of all disposal (taking it to a landfill).

If you are an organisation disposing of WEEE, you must take all measures to the highest level in order to apply the waste hierarchy to prevent waste. If you are transferring waste to another organisation, you must insist they use the hierarchy as well to ensure that the equipment is recycled to its maximum potential. A lot of equipment that gets recycled can be reused because most of the time it is just thrown away due to upgrades or minor faults which can be fixed with experience.

How Ecogreen IT Recycling conduct its duty to help the environment?

  • The first question that comes to mind when a collection has occurred and been transferred back to our unit is “can this be reused?” We try our hardest to get old and new, broken or unused equipment back to a refurbished state so that it can be used by a new owner. We are proud to say that we refurbish up to 70% of recycled goods to a reusable state. These goods include, but are not limited to, computer bases, monitors, projectors and printers.
  • The next step in the process is transporting anything that is classified as unusable in a secure vehicle to an Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities (AATF) where it is broken down to the main components and recycled. This means breaking down a computer into plastic, metal, wiring and other components.
  • If the products cannot be recycled, then they are broken down into reusable parts, this is usually when the product is split into plastics, metals and replaceable parts on other products (especially non-hazardous mixed plastic).
  • Once all the procedures have been fulfilled, there rarely is anything that gets taken to a landfill because there is typically a use to all the products as they can be used in other machines, items or used in the creation of new products.