欧美AV

Some of the materials, such as lithium and indium, that WEEE contains are classed as 'critical minerals' in the UK. This means they are vital to our economy but also face significant supply chain risks.

We must recover these critical minerals to help prevent their leakage from our economy, particularly when they play such a crucial part in many of the green technologies required in the low-carbon energy transition. The 欧美AV has long highlighted the essential nature of these elements through our campaign.

The 欧美AV is calling on the UK Government to urgently put in place the enabling policies needed to move to a circular economy – rather than throwing potentially useful materials away, they are kept circulating at their highest value for as long as possible.

The UK Government has recently been consulting on reforms to the WEEE system and also issued a call for evidence, both of which the 欧美AV responded to.

We welcomed the intention behind a number of proposals within the consultations, however, there is a clear need for a coherent suite of interventions that address the complex challenges presented by WEEE if we are to enable a circular economy of the materials it contains.

Some of the recommendations we made in our responses are:

• Investment in recycling and repair infrastructure
• Changes in product design (which may require incentives or more regulation)
• Research and innovation in recycling methods.

At present, the WEEE system is not well set up to do this. Previous research that our 欧美AV team conducted with IPSOS Mori found that 51% of UK households had at least one unused electronic device sitting in drawers and cupboards.

Just over half of respondents said they worry about the environmental effect of the unused tech devices they have at home, but either don’t know what to do with them or are unconvinced that the current processes available in their local area deal with WEEE effectively.

Within a circular economy repair, re-use, re-manufacturing, and recycling are all vital as each has a role to play in slowing material flows and minimising waste and consumption.

Overall, our governments need to take ambitious strides to progress towards a circular economy that protects the value of critical minerals, human health and our environment.