As EU e-waste legislation tightens Bamboo Distribution leads the way in eco-friendly mobile phone recycling
Recycling old or damaged mobile phones is good for the environment. It conserves natural resources, helps keep reusable materials out of landfills and saves energy. Bamboo Distribution knows this and has been informing mobile phone insurers of the environmental and financial gains of mobile phone recycling since its inception five years ago.
Take a look at some of the changes being made in electronic waste disposal legislation and how Bamboo Distributions continues to maintain its position as a leader in environmentally friendly mobile phone recycling.
New waste regulations are coming
From 1 January 2015 new waste regulations for businesses will be implemented in the UK. The legislation will require companies to separate all recyclable material from other waste. The new regulations are part of an amendment to the EU Waste Framework Directive, to help improve the “quality and quantity” of recycling throughout the UK.
The new business waste stipulations collaborates with the EU’s aim to collect ten million tons of European e-waste by 2020.
It’s an ambitious statistic, but, as we can see with the new UK business waste regulations, it is one the EU is intent on accomplishing.
The WEEE Directive
In August 2012, the European Commission updated the Waste Electrical and Electronic Directive (WEE Directive), on waste electrical and electronic equipment. The WEE legislation sets an ambitious target to salvage at least 85% of electronic waste that is generated in the European Union by 2020.
Whilst the Directive came into force in 2003, it wasn’t implemented in the UK until mid-2007. In 2011 the European Parliament voted for tougher rules regarding WEEE recycling. It is now required that each country should process 85 percent of all its technology-based waste by 2016.
These stricter rules are designed to help combat the problem of toxic waste produced from discarded electronic devices, which is often illegally exported to developing countries where it is processed in what has been referred to as being “lethally unsafe ways.”
Implementing a re-use standard
Haley Bowcock, environmental advocacy officer at Computer Aid, spoke of how e-waste generation in the EU is predicted to increase to 12 million tonnes per year by 2020. Bowcock also spoke of how reusing devices such as mobile phones, is the greenest option.
“Reuse is the most environmentally friendly option for much electronic equipment,” said Bowcock.
Bamboo Distribution puts protecting the environment at the core of its business strategy. Bamboo Distribution offers a simple solution for the collection, recycling and disposal of mobile phones that adhere to the obligations set out by the WEEE Directive.
EMAS-compliant
In its drive to make protecting the environment a core business strategy, Bamboo Distribution developed an Environmental Management System. The system is fully compliant with the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). EMAS is a voluntary environmental management system, developed in 1993 by the EU. It allows businesses to “assess, manage and continuously improve their environmental performance.”
Reporting on what matters
Adhering to EMAS’s aim, Bamboo Distribution’s Environmental Management System includes maintaining regulatory compliance records and measuring and reporting environmental performance.
As KPMG wrote in its Reporting On What Matters: Sustainability Reporting report released in December 2014: “sustainability reporting in the European Union has grown significantly, but there are still many companies that do not disclose information on such matters.”
“Sustainability reporting is a key step towards achieving a sustainable economy,” the KPMG report concludes.
As EU targets become more ambitious, legislation continues to tighten. And as the 2020 target to collect ten million tonnes of European e-waste edges closer, Bamboo Distribution’s environmental policies to maintain an Environmental Management System that prioritises sustainability reporting and is both WEEE and EMAS compliant, this ensures that Bamboo Distribution continues to lead the way in mobile phone recycling.
