Four years on from the Government accepting or partly accepting
recommendations from the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) to
tackle the “e-waste tsunami”, it appears little progress has been
made.
In its report published in November 2020, EAC shone a spotlight
on the environmental impact of electronic items. Their
manufacture from raw materials can cause huge human and
environmental damage and releases significant carbon emissions,
whilst electronic waste, when not properly treated, can release
toxic chemicals that damage human and animal health.
EAC therefore called for more to be done on embedding a circular
economy to use, re-use and recycle electronic products.
In the Government’s current consultation ‘Electrical waste:
reforming the producer responsibility system’, EAC is encouraged
to see that online marketplaces are to be subject to producer
responsibility requirements, thereby levelling the playing field
with high street retailers. EAC also welcomes proposals for
mandatory collection of e-waste.
However, the relatively narrow focus of the current consultation
fails to address many of EAC’s 2020 recommendations.
Implementation of proposals such as ensuring products sold on
online marketplaces are compliant with the law, addressing
planned obsolescence and making electrical items safe to repair
for the consumer are all missing from the Government’s plans.
Committee members are generally concerned that the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ general implementation of
producer responsibility policies is beset by delays.
EAC has therefore written to the Environment Secretary setting
out EAC’s recommendations and its view on whether the current
Government consultation seeks to address them.
Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, Rt Hon MP, said:
“When the Committee reported on e-waste in 2020, each UK
household had 20 unused electronic items hoarded at home, and
there were enough unused cables in UK households to go around the
world five times. Despite these extraordinary statistics, it
appears the Government is yet to grasp fully the scale of the
e-waste tsunami.
“It is not just the amount of waste created in the sector through
planned obsolescence or insufficient recycling schemes, but the
significant environmental impact of creating the products in the
first place. For example, when disposed of incorrectly, toxic
chemicals can leak into the surrounding environment. The precious
metals needed for our mobile phones, tablets or headphones are
needed for Net Zero Britain and renewable energy infrastructure.
“As a Select Committee, we are encouraged when the Government
looks carefully at the evidence we have collected and accepts our
recommendations. However, four years on, we are yet to see many
of these initiatives make it into policy or be reflected in its
current consultation on e-waste. I look forward to receiving the
Environment Secretary’s response to see how EAC’s recommendations
can help mould this critically important piece of Government
policy.”
