The three Rs reduce, re-use, recycle

We examine how a new sweeping new European Directive, which aims to make consumer electronics producers responsible for the safe and environmentally friendly disposal of their products, could change the face of product design

If were honest, for most of us recycling our waste doesnt go beyond the ubiquitous tin can, plastic, paper and glass. And in most cases, were only motivated enough to dispose of this waste if our local council has a pick up service. Recent statistics from Waste Online estimates that UK households produce more than 434 million tonnes of waste each year. At this rate of rubbish generation we could fill The Albert Hall in less than two hours.

Of that waste, nearly one million tonnes is domestic equipment and this figure is rising by 3-5 percent annually three times faster than any other waste category. In total this comprises 93 million TVs, computers, fridges, freezers, cookers, washing machines, telephones, tools, electronic toys, sporting and other consumer equipment.

Yet we dont put these products out for recycling, instead we throw them away or take them to the local refuse tip where they end up in a landfill site or worse, are incinerated - neither option is sustainable. Incineration releases dangerous greenhouse gases and further exacerbates global warming, and our landfills are filling fast.

It is certain that we wont be able to continue to consume electronics at the increasing rate we do currently. Gus Desbarats of Alloy, one of BTs product designers, comments, The electronics industry has created a state of product obsolescence and shorter life cycles that didnt exist before. In our desire for quicker, faster, better, we repeatedly dispose of whole products that still work fine, when all that needs to be replaced is a chip or processor.

So are we doing enough to safe guard the future of the planet? The European Union and UK Government certainly dont think so. Over ten years ago, it started to debate a way to minimise the impact of electrical and electronic equipment on the environment. Known as The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, it will require all producers to mark products as compliant by this summer and will become law in 2006.

Encompassing all types of household electrical and electronic products, the Directive sets targets for the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of these products. But rather than placing the onus on the consumer, the responsibility will lie strictly with the producer (whether a manufacturer or retailer who buys and re-brands products).

Each producer will have to take responsibility for ensuring that its products are recycled, re-used, or refurbished and re-sold. At this point, the Directive concentrates mainly on recycling since no targets have been set for the re-use element.

In addition, each supplier will have to have an end of life plan for each product, as well as foot the bill for recycling.

The good news is that a significant amount of WEEE is already re-used. 600,000 pieces of equipment were refurbished in 2003/04 by just four community sectors and this figure is likely to be as high as one million when you take into account independent second hand stores, car boot sales and so on.

Costs for the mechanical treatment and recycling of telephones are estimated at 100-200 per tonne because each one tends to weigh less than 2kg.

BT has been working with the DTI, Environment Agency, and user groups since the Directive was first put on the agenda five years ago. But as an organisation it has been an active recycler and re-user for more than 25 years. Its telephone rental service, which was probably the industrys first re-use programme, has been in operation since 1980s and it has been recycling its phones for over 15 years.

But it doesnt stop there. In 1999, the BT board made a commitment to environmental practices. After identifying activities that could potentially harm the environment, a programme was established to manage the impacts in a responsible manner. These programmes cover everything from voluntary accreditation to ISO 14001 for environmental management systems, to saving energy and watching its waste. In the last financial year, BT proactively recycled 37,000 tonnes of waste, reducing the amount of electronic products heading to landfill sites by eight percent.

Currently BT products, which are disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner, are taken to a recycler and lightly crushed. Each different material is extracted and melted down, or taken back to its natural state, where it can be sold and re-used. Mark Dowling, from the BT Product Stewardship team, comments, We are pleased with our current recycling performance. This years internal target for recycling as a percentage of our products is 75% and we are currently achieving over 95%.

The key for companies such as BT is to ensure that this process is as simple to manage as possible. As a result, BT is concentrating on the design of its products, as well as ways to ensure that each telephone sold can be easily recycled. Dowling continues, This means that BT is actively looking at ways to reduce the number of different materials used in the manufacturer of a product down to just a few.

BT is striving to design and develop products that meet and go beyond the WEEE Directive products that not only meet the consumers desire for new features, but ones that can also lessen the impact on the environment: a sustainable design. As Gus explains, In a way, we <the industry> need to look at modularising the obsolescence of products. For example, designing a premium casing for a telephone, where the electronics simply plug in the back of it. This way when the next big technology development occurs, consumers can simply swap out the plug-in rather than disposing of the whole unit.

BT already makes some of the most usable products in the world compare the simplicity of the telephone to the computer so it is in an excellent position to drive great design forward that incorporates re-use and recycling, Gus finishes.

From an environmental perspective, the Directive may actually drive the electronics industry into creating even better and more environmentally friendly products.

Consumers are much more aware than before of good business practices, so companies who take the lead will also benefit in terms of reputation and consumer loyalty.

When both Directives come in to force in 2006, it not only heralds what many hope to be as a big step in encouraging the regeneration of scare resources, but could also persuade the consumer to look more closely at how they dispose of products.

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