Assessment of the quantities of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in Scotland

The EC Directives on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and on the Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in electrical and electronic equipment forms the basis of legislative control over the ultimate recovery and disposal of electronic and electrical products. Understanding the quantities and composition of WEEE arising will be critical in the development of an appropriate collection and recovery infrastructure to meet the requirements of the directive. However in advance of implementation of the directive only limited information is currently available. This paper reviews recent estimates of WEEE arisings, considers the results of trial collection schemes, and presents the findings of the authors own analysis of WEEE arisings in Scotland. The results cover the period of 1998-2008 and suggest that the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment will increase until 300,000-350,000 metric tons per annum is reached.