WEEE: Ready or Not

The European Union's WEEE Directive has been touted as a model for electronics producer responsibility, but many do not realize that years after its passage, the law is only now taking effect—country by country (for example, the Directive went into effect in the U.K. on July 1). From a recycling infrastructure and capacity perspective, the unfortunate truth for WEEE is that Europe is unprepared to accept the tsunami of e-waste that the law will generate, and its implementors' near-term efforts will favor expediency over environmental stewardship.

We've been here before. E-waste recycling issues will follow a similar trajectory as the Lead (Pb) Acid battery recycling challenges of the past because both require advanced materials recovery and toxics control. At first, regulation and public recognition of the environmental hazards mandated end-of-life lead/acid power storage recycling; this action resulted in increased end-of-life auto-battery stockpiles before a sufficient collection and recycling infrastructure could be developed. To keep up with recycling demand, secondary smelters began utilizing relatively dirty high-volume (lead/acid) battery recycle processes, increasing both recycling volumes and community complaints. Under public pressure, plastics and other volatile compounds were mandated removed before smelting. To comply, secondary lead recyclers began utilizing crushers and polymer separation systems before the lead (Pb and Pb oxides) smelting process to reduce toxic emissions.

Compared with batteries, the e-waste management industry is confronted with an additional problem: electronics contain limited value base commodity content, and at the current state of technological development, recyclers cannot operate a clean process that also economically offsets high cost of recycling in a developed country. A number of de-manufacturers subsist through the manual break-down, removal and resale of parts and components, however these businesses have no effective means for dealing with the toxic-laden scrap material from their process. The majority of e-waste in both the U.S. and Europe is either landfilled, incinerated/smelted or exported to developing countries where limited materials recovery occurs with great risk to both low wage workers and the local environment. The Basel Action Network has done an excellent job of documenting this reality.

So far, the e-waste industry has largely responded to mandated recycling by consolidating existing operations in a grab for a larger share of the coming boom. Not to be outdone, most manufacturers have lately announced new "green" initiatives. There is limited new recycling capacity being built, and even less development of more sustainable ways to manage what will be a growing waste stream. The industry will only make the leap to clean, green and environmentally sustainable closed loop recycling methods when the buying public, particularly large corporate computer users, demand it. Now is a good time to start.