International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

particular streams of WEEE. For example, Fonebak in the UK currently processes
more than 250,000 mobile phones per month, with approximately 80 % being
refurbished and sent to developing countries, and the remaining 20 % being sent for
recycling. Fonebak has been granted licences by the Environment Agency and the
Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to operate as a Producer
Compliance Scheme, an approved treatment facility, a designated collection facility
and an approved exporter, thus providing an end-to-end solution for mobile phone
producers. 444 Likewise, Computer Aid International refurbishes laptops and PCs,
which are then used to support e-learning in countries such as Kenya, Madagascar
and Zambia.
Finally, the householder also plays an important role in the success of the WEEE
policy. Householder participation was acknowledged by Sweden as one of the key
reasons for their relatively high WEEE collection rates compared to other EU
countries.
20.4 Pre-implementation / Evaluation Studies Available
Arcadis (2008) Study on RoHS and WEEE Directives, European Commission DG
Enterprise and Industry, March 2008.
Greenpeace (2008) Toxic Tech: Not in Our Backyard, Uncovering the Hidden Flows of
e-Waste.
Ökopol (2007) The Producer Responsibility Principle of the WEEE Directive, Report
produced for the European Commission.
United Nations University (2007) 2008 Review of Directive 2002/96 on Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), Final Report produced for the European
Commission.
20.5 Environmental Benefits
Regarding waste prevention, the main aims of the WEEE policy were originally to
provide the following key environmental benefits:
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� Decline in the waste produced whilst manufacturing WEEE products as well as
the minimisation of waste produced at the end of the product’s life, both of
which lead to a reduction in WEEE heading to landfill;
� Encouragement of the re-use of WEEE by designing products that are reusable,
long-lived, and capable of being readily remanufactured or refashioned;
� Reduction in the leakage of potentially hazardous materials by controlling the
toxicity of the product and ensuring its safe disposal (includes RoHS);
444 Regenersis (2007) ‘WEEE Are Ready’ Say Mobile Phone Reuse and Recycling Leaders, 29 th June
2007, available at:
http://www.fonebak.com/WEEE%20Are%20Ready%20Say%20Mobile%20Phone%20Reuse%20and%2
0Recycling%20Leaders.aspx
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes