Government fails to grasp scale of UK’s e-waste ‘tsunami’

In a report published in November 2020, the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) estimated that every UK household owns about 20 unused electrical items, and “enough unused cables in UK households to go around the world five times.”

E-waste like this is difficult to dispose of, and can leach toxic chemicals into the environment if done improperly.

However, “despite these extraordinary statistics, it appears the Government is yet to grasp fully the scale of the e-waste tsunami,” said EAC chair Philip Dunne, Conservative MP for Ludlow.

“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.”

The government is currently running a consultation on e-waste (‘Electrical waste: reforming the producer responsibility system’), which will level the playing field between high street and online retailers by making the latter subject to producer responsibility requirements. It also makes collection of e-waste mandatory.

However, the Committee says the consultation has “a relatively narrow focus” that “fails to address many of EAC’s 2020 recommendations.” The government’s plans do not address elements like planned obsolescence, making electrical items safe for consumers to repair and ensuring products sold through online marketplaces comply with the law.

Of the 27 recommendations, Dunne said the government had only fully accepted one, and part-accepted 22 more.

Progress, however, has been slow. In a letter to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Mr Dunne wrote, “the measures on which the government is currently consulting do not appear to implement any of [the accepted recommendations].”

The Committee has observed “a regrettable pattern of inhibited progress” on delivery of green initiatives, citing one – a consultation on producer responsibility for e-waste – that is now four years overdue.

“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,” wrote Dunne.

“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.”