Global initiative launched to tackle WEEE
A new global public-private initiative has been launched to address the issue of electronic and electrical waste (WEEE). Called ‘Solving the E-Waste Problem’ (StEP), this initiative’s goal is to facilitate approaches towards the sustainable handling of e-waste. It aims to:
- standardize recycling processes globally to harvest valuable components in WEEE
- extend the life of products and markets for their reuse
- harmonize world legislative and policy approaches to electronic and electrical waste.
Major high-tech manufacturers, including Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Dell, Ericsson, Philips and Cisco Systems, join UN, governmental, NGO and academic institutions, along with recycling/refurbishing companies are charter members of StEP.
‘There’s more than gold in those mountains of high-tech scrap,’ says Ruediger Kuehr of the United Nations University, which will host the StEP Secretariat in Bonn, Germany. ‘This partnership is committed to salvaging these increasingly precious resources and preventing them from fouling the environment.’
ISRI helps US states to enact metals theft legislation
Metals theft has become an overwhelming problem across the US, according to ISRI, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. The impact of metals theft on the scrap recycling industry is significant. Recyclers have become both the victims of theft and the target for legislative efforts to solve the theft problem.
Frank Cozzi, ISRI Chair, notes in a letter to members that ‘dozens of jurisdictions across the country have enacted, or are considering, metals theft legislation. In many cases these laws are being based on faulty premises and pawn shop laws. The unintended result has often been poorly written laws that are unenforceable, ineffective, and that unnecessarily harm recycling.’
As a result, ISRI’s Metals Theft Task Force and ISRI’s Board of Directors have developed and passed suggested legislative language that reflects reasonable and workable solutions that can make a difference on metals theft. It states that ‘ISRI’s legislative language is one of many tools you can use in your community as you work with community leaders, law enforcement and legislators. The language was written in such a way that ISRI members have flexibility in adapting it to local conditions’.
UK’s largest PFI deal completed
Manchester-based Global Renewables and contractor Bovis Lend Lease have signed a £2 billion (€3 billion), 25-year deal with Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council in what is thought to be one of the most significant waste management private finance initiative (PFI) contracts to be awarded in the UK.
Under the deal, Global Renewables and Bovis Lend Lease, with backing from major international banks, will spend £320 million (€470 million) on the design, construction and operation of two state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly waste management facilities to handle the 600,000 tonnes of household waste produced every year in Lancashire.
restructuring in ownership of indaver
In the presence of Flemish Minister for the Environment Kris Peeters, Vlaamse Milieuholding nv (VMH) and Delta nv signed an agreement for the sale of VMH’s majority stake in Indaver to Delta nv. 25% of the shares plus one will remain in the hands of VMH and several industrial shareholders who already own Indaver stock. The agreement sets out provisions to keep Indaver anchored in Flanders and for safeguarding its continuity and growth strategy.
Peter Boerma, CEO of Delta, emphasized that VMH had achieved its objectives by establishing an outstanding waste-processing company, and that Delta fully intends to support Indaver’s further development, which goes hand-in-glove with Delta’s own growth strategy - namely to achieve further growth on the commercial market for energy, water and the environment (waste management).
Both companies are geographically very well suited. Delta intends to support Indaver’s goals and expansion plans wholeheartedly. The synergy created will be used to develop the experience and expertise for the benefit of both partners.
EC seeks to abolish the ‘safe havens’ of environmental crime
The European Commission (EC) has proposed a directive that obliges Member States to treat serious offences against the environment as criminal acts and to ensure that they are effectively sanctioned. It also sets minimum sanctions for environmental crimes across the Member States.
According to the EC, offences such as the illegal emission of hazardous substances into the air, water or soil, the illegal shipment of waste, and the illegal trade in endangered species can have devastating effects on human health and the environment. They also undermine the efficiency of EU environment legislation. It is therefore crucial to ensure that they are effectively sanctioned throughout the European Union. In serious cases criminal sanctions such as prison sentences should be applied, as they have a much higher dissuasive effect than, for example, administrative sanctions.
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas commented: ‘The recent hazardous waste disaster in the Ivory Coast shows how environmental crimes can have devastating effects on people and the environment. It also underlines once again how urgent it is to improve the way environmental legislation is enforced in order to avoid such incidents’.
Franco Frattini, the Commission’s Vice-President responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security, added: ‘The proposed directive is crucial to avoid criminals profiting from the existing discrepancies in Member States’ criminal law systems which damage the European environment. We cannot allow safe havens of environmental crime inside the EU’.
Seeking clarity in the European WEEE Directive
Reacting to concerns that that the WEEE Directive has so far been implemented in a confusing and inconsistent way throughout Europe, the Association of Cities and Regions for Recycling and Sustainable Resource Management (ACR+) has established the WEEE Public Interest Network (WEEE-PIN). The aim of this network is to gather relevant information and use this to the benefit of all European citizens.
WEEE-PIN held its first meeting on 16 February, in the presence of Mrs Huytebroeck, Environment Minister for the Brussels Region, MM Christof Delatter (INTERAFVAL, B) and Nicolas Garnier (AMORCE), members of ACR+ and co-presidents of this initiative.
WEEE makes progress in the UK
Environment Agency approves 37 compliance schemes
The UK Environment Agency has urged companies that produce, rebrand or import electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) to sign up with an approved compliance scheme by 15 March. Thirty-seven compliance schemes, which will help companies meet the requirements of the WEEE Regulations by collecting and recycling products on their behalf, have now been approved by the Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
REPIC confirms free WEEE take-back
REPIC, a leading B2C WEEE compliance scheme in the UK, has confirmed it will accept free of charge any WEEE, of any category, collected through in-store take-back or through home delivery from any distributor (retailer) from the 1 July 2007. REPIC will collect, any and all WEEE made freely available in all categories, from any local authority Designated Collection Facilities working to the Code of Practice, utilizing existing WEEE infrastructure where appropriate. It will provide up to five containers appropriate to each site free of charge and clear those sites to agreed service levels. If the scheme collects too much WEEE, it will work with other schemes as permitted to balance obligations.
Veolia launches WEEE compliance scheme in the UK
Veolia Environmental Services, UK has gained approval from the Environment Agency to launch its WEEE producer compliance scheme. By already controlling significant amounts of WEEE via its existing operations, the company believes that it is well placed to meet customer obligations as its competitive scheme caters for small and large companies alike. Veolia is one of the largest operators of civic amenity sites in the UK that will also operate a WEEE compliance scheme and is utilizing WEEE capacity from its nationwide network which comprises approved Designated Collection Facilities.
TV recycling plant is officially ‘switched on’
Samsung has officially ‘switched on’ a new recycling operation in the UK that will recycle up to two million televisions a year. Global Environmental Recycling Company Limited, which owns the recycling plant, has just signed an agreement with Samsung to supply the manufacturing giant with recycled glass. The plant was officially switched on during a ceremony on 8 March.
When at full capacity the plant is estimated to be the largest operation of its type in the country. Each year it will clean up to two million scrap TVs and computer monitors - creating 30,000 tonnes of glass that is to be shipped back to Samsung for use in new products.
Ros Roca cleans up in Córdoba, Spain
Ros Roca has been awarded the contract for what it claims to be the most important pneumatic collection project in all of Europe to date. Córdoba City Council has decided to place its faith in the Lleida-based company’s own technology to advise and assist in the drawing up of the ‘basic project for the implementation of municipal pneumatic refuse collection’ in this city.
The aim of this project is to provide a pneumatic refuse collection service for approximately 35,000 households. It will involve the construction of four semi-buried central units and the application of cutting edge monitoring and management techniques.
Given the size of the project, Ros Roca will install a permanent Technical Office in Córdoba to provide support and advice for all the urban development promoters operating in the area involved, with the aim of providing the best service and maximum collaboration in order to guarantee the success of the project.
India puts efforts into tackling E-waste
As a part of ongoing efforts to facilitate a strong legislative action on electronic waste in India, Toxics Link has published a study on the status of Waste from Electronic and Electrical Equipments (WEEE) in Mumbai. The report reveals that Mumbai is not just the leading city that generates electronic waste in the country, but also discards a large part of it to Delhi and its adjoining areas where the informal recycling sector processes the waste in what is described as an ‘environmentally hazardous’ manner.
At the same time, the Indian Express Group reports that the Delhi Government has decided to start an electronic waste management programme in the Indian capital. And the government is planning to involve rag-pickers in managing the garbage in the city. Both of these initiatives are part of India’s forthcoming 11th five-year plan on the environment.
No clear ban on mercury exports
In November last year anti-mercury groups made a call for world governments to ban mercury exports and reduce global mercury pollution. In particular they were hoping for a formal announcement during the 24th session of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC-24/GMEF), which took place during 5-9 February this year at the UN Office in Nairobi, Kenya.
During this meeting, the EU and several other stakeholders insisted that voluntary commitments should be supplemented by a legally binding instrument, and called for political commitment to this from GC-24/GMEF. The US - supported by Australia, Canada and Japan - highlighted the urgent need for practical action to reduce mercury use, demand, emissions and supplies.
The participating countries objected to a ‘blanket’ political commitment to binding regulation. This view was shared by China and India, with several countries pointing to lack of sufficient scientific information to justify a binding instrument. The Russian Federation preferred the adoption of a legally binding instrument after the development of alternative technologies, and cautioned against the adverse consequences of a total ban on mercury.
Delegates agreed, however, that a ‘two-track’ approach could be employed to take forward actions on mercury, while keeping open the path to a binding instrument in the future. The delegates’ final conclusions on mercury were:
- to acknowledge progress made within UNEP’s mercury programme
- to outline priorities in reducing risks from releases of mercury
- to urge governments to gather information on means to reduce risk caused by supply of mercury
- to request the UNEP Executive Director to prepare a report on mercury emissions, and strengthen the UNEP mercury partnerships
- to establish an ad hoc open-ended working group of government and stakeholder representatives to review and assess options for enhanced voluntary measures and new or existing international legal instruments, and to see that the group provides a progress report to GCSS-10/GMEF, and a final report to GC-25/GMEF, which will take a decision on the matter.
Global roundtable on climate change launches joint statement
A group of global leaders from political, industry and academic sectors gathered to issue a joint statement which marks the culmination of three years of collaboration to address the pressing issue of climate change.
Since 2004, the Global Roundtable on Climate Change (GROCC) has met twice a year to explore areas of potential consensus regarding core scientific, technological, and economic issues critical to shaping public policies on climate change. The statement lays out a proactive post-Kyoto framework for affecting change at the levels of policy and industry, particularly in regard to stimulating economic growth through the creation of sustainable energy systems.
In developing the framework, the GROCC closely examined energy generation and has recognized the climate benefits of producing energy from waste.
According to the statement, ‘efforts to reduce global emissions of methane from landfills should be expanded, including increased use of waste-to-energy facilities where appropriate and cost-effective.’
Commenting on the outcome, Anthony Orlando, CEO of Covanta, an active participant in the discussion, said: ‘Creating renewable energy from waste is a readily available and proven technology that reduces the emission of greenhouse gases. We are proponents of a sustainable waste management approach that supports greater source reduction, recycling and generation of clean electricity from modern energy-from-waste facilities. These waste management practices work together to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, the primary man-made gases that cause global warming. We fully endorse the joint statement and look forward to continuing our collaboration on the action items that are laid out in the statement.’
European commission defines waste
European waste authorities now have guidance on making case-by-case judgements on whether a given material is a waste or not, and economic operators have information on how these decisions should be taken. This is thanks to a new communication on the definition of waste published by the European Commission. In addition to waste as defined in the Waste Framework Directive, the new communication defines the following terms:
- Product: all material that is deliberately created in a production process. In many cases it is possible to identify one (or more) ‘primary’ products, which is the principal material produced.
- Production residue: a material that is not deliberately produced in a production process but may or may not be a waste.
- By-product: a production residue that is not a waste.
The ‘definitive guide’ on fridge recycling
Of all the various ways of treating waste refrigeration equipment containing hydrocarbons, the most environmentally benign approach is to process these appliances together with CFC-containing appliances in a single specialist recycling plant. This was the irrefutable conclusion from a life-cycle assessment study carried out by the Darmstadt-based Öko-Institut in Germany. The new study is claimed to be ‘the definitive reference’ for anyone looking for guidance on the best possible approach to recycling end-of-life fridges and freezers.
It makes clear that simply removing hydrocarbon-containing appliances from the waste stream and processing them in a shredder without recovering the hydrocarbons is environmentally untenable as it fails all relevant environmental criteria. Assessing different scenarios involved analysing important environmental factors such as resource consumption, the greenhouse effect, stratospheric ozone depletion, acidification of ecosystems, eutrophication of ecosystems and the formation of photo-oxidants.
Any prior sorting of waste refrigeration equipment into CFC-containing and CFC-free appliances was found to have a significant negative effect on the most important environmental criteria.
Montagu Private Equity announces the sale of Cory Environmental
Montagu Private Equity has agreed to sell Cory Environmental to a consortium of long-term infrastructure investors consisting of ABN AMRO Global Infrastructure Fund, Finpro SGPS and Santander Private Equity, on behalf of Santander Infrastructure Funds I and II for £588 million (enterprise value), about €860.
Cory is one of the UK’s leading waste management companies. It operates 10 landfill sites across the UK and has contracts for recycling, street cleaning and waste collection stretching from Lincolnshire to Cornwall. It is best known for operating barges on the River Thames. Around 15% of London’s waste is transferred by barge, removing 100,000 lorry movements per year from London’s roads.
In 2005, working with Cory’s existing management team, Montagu acquired the business from Exel whose main business is logistics and supply chain management.
Finland launches new national waste plan
The Finnish Ministry of the Environment has announced that its new national waste plan is ready. Targeting actions at local authorities, it describes how waste management in Finland should look like in 2016 and how relevant goals will be achieved.
One of the main points of the national waste plan is promoting the prevention of waste generation. There are different steering methods that can improve the material efficiency of products, industrial production, construction, and both private and public consumption.
One matter still to be sorted out is how to implement a taxation system on natural resources, with the purpose of reducing their consumption. The working group estimates that the amount of municipal waste will diminish by 1% each year by directing the steering methods in a new way.
According to the working group, it is necessary to increase the recovery of energy from waste that cannot be recycled. This could result in better utilization of municipal waste and reduction of methane emissions at landfills.
US EPA to redefine solid waste
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed to modify the definition of solid waste to streamline regulation of hazardous secondary materials. The proposed rule would provide for the recycling of such materials as solvents, metals and certain other chemicals.
‘This proposal recognizes that recycling secondary materials can both help the environment and reduce costs,’ said Susan Bodine, Assistant Administrator for the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. ‘By encouraging legitimate recycling practices that are environmentally protective, this proposal presents a win-win for the environment and for the economy.’
The EPA estimates that streamlining the management of secondary materials in a cost-efficient but safe manner will result in an average cost savings of US$107 million a year from both reduced regulatory burden and increased recycling.
The proposed rule provides exclusions for:
- materials that are generated and reclaimed under the control of the generator
- materials that are generated and transferred to another person or company for reclamation under specific conditions
- materials that the EPA deems non-waste through a case-by-case petition process.
The proposal also defines legitimate recycling to ensure that only legitimate recycling activity benefits from the streamlined requirements, not treatment or disposal under the guise of recycling.
The EPA estimates that about 4600 facilities, handling more than half a million tonnes of hazardous secondary materials annually, may be affected by this proposed rule. The industry sectors that could be most affected are chemicals manufacturing, coating and engraving, semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing and industrial waste management.
FEAD welcomes first reading on the revised waste framework directive
The European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services (FEAD) has welcomed the vote by the European Parliament on the Revision of the Waste Framework Directive, which it states is of utmost importance for the European waste management industry. The association believes that good progress was made on key priorities, including:
- by-products: FEAD welcomes the adoption of the recital calling the Commission to complete its draft on guidelines for the classification on by-products. It is however not clear how this approach and guidance will interact with the adopted obligation for the Commission to put forward a legislative proposal for criteria to determine by-product status. FEAD is opposed to any mechanism which could declassify waste without ensuring the necessary environmental safeguards.
- waste hierarchy: the adopted waste hierarchy implies a five-step approach as a general rule. FEAD welcomes the flexibility granted but does consider it challenging to apply life-cycle assessments and cost-benefit analysis on every waste stream in order to deviate from a principle.
- recovery and energy-from-waste: FEAD welcomes the adopted definition of recovery providing the adequate distinction between disposal and recovery. The definition legitimately recognizes that interim operations before recovery are also recovery operations. According to FEAD, the time ahead of the second reading should allow for further constructive discussions on how to establish a valid classification system.
- self-sufficiency and proximity principles: FEAD is pleased that amendments extending the application of the self-sufficiency and proximity principle to waste destined for recovery were not supported by the Parliament. Open markets for recovery operations have always been a driver for high European environmental standards.
In Brief
Japanese amends waste legislation
The Japanese Ministry of the Environment announced on 1 March that ‘The Bill Partially Amending the Law for Promotion of Recycling and Related Activities for the Treatment of Cyclical Food Resources (‘the Bill’) will be approved by the Cabinet on 2 March. The Bill is mainly intended to promote reduction and recycling of food wastes by food-related businesses (especially food retailers and food services) by strengthening guidance and supervision of food related businesses, and by promoting closed-loop recycling of food resources.
RRF publishes report on waste paper markets
The Resource Recovery Forum has published full and summary reports from a project entitled ‘Simulation of Recovered Paper Markets for Sustainable Resource Management’.
The project, carried out by the The Newspaper Industry Environmental Technology Initiative at the University of Paisley, developed a computer simulation of the recovered paper market to simulate and predict possible future market scenarios. Its main objective was to assist planning and decision-making for more sustainable resource flow management. A summary version of the report can be downloaded from the Forum’s website at: http://www.resourcesnotwaste.org/
HSM has new trade name
HSM has now amended the official company’s trade name to HSM GmbH + Co. KG (changed from HSM Pressen GmbH + Co. KG). The original trade name extension ‘Pressen’ resulted from the beginnings of the company, when they mainly produced baling presses. Since then, however, several product groups have been taken into the product portfolio, such as paper shredders, cutting machines, cardboard shredders, compactors and even complete recycling systems.
Calming confusion on hazardous waste
‘Britain’s hazardous waste laws are baffling for business and frustrating for firms,’ says Biffa, which offers a service to help clear up what is a confusing situation for companies across the UK. ‘It’s a nightmare scenario for many firms’, said Mick Ashall, Biffa general manager for waste treatment. ‘Companies used to throw all their waste in the same bin, which would then be sent to a landfill site, but now this has changed, many companies are unsure as to whether or not they are producing hazardous waste and if so, what they are supposed to do with it.’
Correction
In the article ‘Plasma progress’, which covers the Plasco gasification process, published in our November-December 2006 issue: WMW regrets that the large quotation on page 42 was incorrect. It should say: ‘The system costs less than US$530/tonne comparable to WTE plants.’
