Following Sims Recycling Solutions’ announcement last week that it plans to withdrawal from the WEEE market, there is now a concern in the sector over whether the UK will be able to meet WEEE collection targets.
The recycling firm has decided to offload areas of its “loss-making” assets, a large part being the WEEE recycling operations run by the company. This is after claiming that it has become “commercially unattractive” due to a changing market and legislation.
Sims hold a large share in the UK’s WEEE processing capacity; approximately 25% over eight operating facilities. The statement comes after collection figures for the first three months of the year revealed that the UK is slightly below target for 2014 so far. This has prompted some concern in the sector, despite BIS describing the figures as “encouraging” last month.
Although the doors are closing on Sims, we remain optimistic the target can still be met. ecosurety continues to develop our network of evidence suppliers to ensure the security of our members’ obligations.
Read the full story here.
James Piper
Chief innovation officer
James Piper is CIO of Ecosurety. Having previously taken on the role of CEO for nearly five years, James is now focused on leading the development of new products and services that not only benefit producers, but help drive change for good and a positive impact on UK recycling.
Useful links
Last week government responded to the Environmental Audit Committee’s report on waste electricals.
Read More >>Planned obsolescence is a design practice, largely found in electronic goods, that creates products with an intentionally short lifespan in order to encourage increased and regular replacements.
Read More >>The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) published an in-depth review of the EU Member State’s (MS) WEEE collection and target setting systems.
Read More >>
