UK government lays out plan to divert people's broken gizmos from landfill
- Reference: 1704183853
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/01/02/uk_government_recycling/
- Source link:
The move follows the country passing right-to-repair legislation
[1]PDF
, much of which came into force on July 1, 2021 – although manufacturers were given a two-year grace period to make spare parts and such available. Sadly, the [2]rules target mostly white goods – think dishwashers – rather than tablets, laptops, and smartphones.The law mirrored EU regulation; the European Commission early last year [3]also added smartphones and tablets to the list of devices that must be repairable.
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America [5]has taken steps to ensure some gizmos are fixable, although [6]progress has been a little stop-start as some elements of the industry pushed back against the notion of allowing citizens to fix their own kit rather than buying replacements.
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Back in the UK, and the latest plans are all about dealing with how old electrical goods are disposed of. "500 tonnes of Christmas lights are discarded every year in the UK," [9]thundered officials, neatly side-stepping the modern festive dilemma of spending hours untangling a cord that may or may not still produce colorful illumination and has spent 12 months languishing in a cupboard versus simply ordering a new one from any number of retailers.
[10]Apples to apples: Boffins find a way to make e-waste edible
[11]Brits are sitting on a time bomb of 40m old electronic devices that ought to be recycled
[12]Product release cycles are killing the environment, techies tell British Computer Society
[13]AI offers some novel crystal materials that could form future chips, batteries, more
The issue being addressed is what to do with that cord that has one failed light. Rather than angrily fling it into a trash receptacle destined for landfill, the proposal is that there should be a UK-wide collection of waste electrical gear directly from households, sparing people a trudge to the nearest municipal facility. This service would be financed by the hardware producers rather than the taxpayer.
The government has also suggested collection points at large retailers where broken gear can be left without the requirement to buy a new replacement, and make it a requirement for large, older electrical items to be collected for recycling when a new item is delivered.
It will, however, be a while before anything actually happens. A ten-week consultation process is underway in which the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs will be getting together with industry to ponder what to do.
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While the statistics are alarming – the government trotted out figures showing a four-fold increase in the throwing away of vapes, for example, which stands at "five million per week" – more alarming for techies everywhere is the realization that the crates of useless tech collected over a lifetime really need to be dealt with.
Recycling Minister Robbie Moore said: "We all have a drawer of old tech somewhere that we don't know what to do with and our proposals will ensure these gadgets are easy to dispose of without the need for a trip to your local tip."
Your humble hack has several drawers of old tech and cables hoarded over decades "because you never know." Making it easier to dispose of them will not, we fear, deal with the underlying problem. ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9302/CBP-9302.pdf
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/10/uk_right_to_repair_law/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/22/new_eu_right_to_repair/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZZPs2i57D8kcoFPQQ6K3pgAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/13/apple_california_right_repair/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/30/new_york_repair_bill/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZZPs2i57D8kcoFPQQ6K3pgAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZZPs2i57D8kcoFPQQ6K3pgAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-reforms-set-to-spark-greater-reuse-and-recycling-of-electrical-goods
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/18/plastic_recycling/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/21/brits_stockpiling_40m_old_phones_and_laptops/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/27/product_release_cycles/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/30/ai_predicts_novel_materials/
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZZPs2i57D8kcoFPQQ6K3pgAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: disposable vapes
I'd question the cigarette butt analogy. Cigarette buts are pure waste and really only fit for the bin, but as you point out the so-called disposable vapes still have a perfectly re-usable rechargeable battery and heating element.
Big Clive has made a number of videos about scavenging disposable vapes from the gutter and harvesting the batteries for use in other projects.
They're just crying out for recycling rather than discarding to landfill.
"financed by the hardware producers rather than the taxpayer"
So it will be financed by the customers.
We all know that companies pass along their costs. They really can't do otherwise. The only thing they can do is diminish their margins and I'm not sure a company making XMas lights has a lot of margin to squeeze.
Re: "financed by the hardware producers rather than the taxpayer"
Although that sounds unfortunate, what alternative is there ?
If government paid for it, that means taxpayers. So .. everybody, whether they frequently buy appliances or not.
The ideal solution would be to finance the collection and recycling costs using the recycled objects. I have no idea whether that's economically viable.
Re: "financed by the hardware producers rather than the taxpayer"
@Adrian 4
"Although that sounds unfortunate, what alternative is there ?"
One that is frequently overlooked is 'do nothing'. It can sound like a problem but is it a problem? I dont have the answer but given some of the scandals around recycling because its more expensive than worth doing I wonder.
Re: "financed by the hardware producers rather than the taxpayer"
This isn't new.
Manufacturers already pay via the WEEE scheme and the 'green dot' recycling (is it still a thing?) is also industry funded.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Dot_(symbol)
Re: "financed by the hardware producers rather than the taxpayer"
So it will be financed by the customers.
Sure. But that is exactly what's needed. Reduce incentive to just buy (i.e. make) more stuff and encourage reducing consumption and increasing reuse. Re-use Uncle Fred's lights he isn't using any more. Buy lights with replaceable bulbs or better made ones which last longer. Take strings to the local primary school's repair cafe to see if someone can make them work again.
"a trip to your local tip"
OK if it really is local and not ten miles away. Not forgetting there is also often the half hour wait outside in a queue of traffic to actually get inside.
Re: "a trip to your local tip"
We've got council run mobile tips here in Catalunya. Think fancy rag and bone men. They park up in each village 1 day a week and you give them your crap (metal, wood, electronics, old cooking oil etc)... Mind you, no one is going to give away metal for free, you burn any old wood in your fire, old cooking oil you use to start bonfires to burn your clippings, so the only things they really collect is old tvs and stuff like that. No queues and no travelling.
Re: "a trip to your local tip"
I think our local rag-and-bone man has been taken over by Hermes. They drive down the street (cul-de-sac) ringing a bell, but by the time you get outside to tell them you've got something for them they've disappeared..
Re: "a trip to your local tip"
We leave anything metal outside and its gone by the next day. I once took a swing set down and put it on the drive, nipped in for a drink and the lot had gone before I'd finished it!
Re: "a trip to your local tip"
Out local "recycling centre" went to booked time slots during covid and kept them afterwards. It's done wonders for reducing queue times.
This service would be financed by the CUSTOMERS rather than the taxpayer.
FTFY.
Easy or Expensive?
Where I live in the UK it's not hard to recycle white goods, but it's not free; my local council will pick up large goods for £20. Note that if you're binning something that still works (or is useable, like furniture) then charities like the British Heart Foundation will pick them up for nothing.
Re: Easy or Expensive?
I'm not sure about that. We had a *major* clear out some years ago. We thought it would be easy to find willing recipients of items that were in a good, clean, state. But no!
None of the charities would accept electrical goods. And as for furniture, they turned up their noses at everything that didn't have a [1]fire-safety label on it. - you know, those little paper thingies attached to a piece of string around a chair leg or summat. The first thing you throw away, after the guarantee / assembly instructions.
[1] https://www.firesafe.org.uk/furniture-and-furnishings-fire-safety-regulations-19881989-and-1993/
Re: Easy or Expensive?
British Heart Foundation refused Dining Room chairs (but accepted the table) that had been re-covered without a fire-safety label. Men collecting it said this was because BHF was selling - so surely the solution is to sell the table and throw in the chairs with a BIG disclaimer label? They were even less impressed when I suggested removing the seat inserts.
Re: Easy or Expensive?
I tried to sell then give away a very nice sofa.com sofa after my mum passed away. Still had the tags, was basically immaculate, but ZERO interest. Even when we offered it for free.
I think part of this is the convenience of having something new delivered rather than having to go get it (admittedly this was a BIG sofa) and we've also become so accustomed to new due to easy credit deals that second hand stuff is of no interest.
My local council does 'small device' and battery collection as part of the green bin collection. You put the batteries or small devices in a bag and put them on the bin. Larger stuff still needs to be taken to the tip.
Re: Easy or Expensive?
Didn't realize that. The only things I've given them have been chairs (plain wood) which, although ironically flammable, they were quite happy to take!
Pass the parcel
> The UK government hopes to make it easier for folks to reuse and recycle electrical goods rather than consign old gear to the landfill
Or just advertise the crap as "new" on *Bay and then blame the buyer sucker who bought it for the state it's in.
UK government
They couldn't lay a blanket on the beach...
Just saying.
Another piece of hot air.
"The issue being addressed is what to do with that cord that has one failed light"
In the "old" filament days, the lamps plugged in and every Christmas light kit included some spares. Why not do the same?
Re: "The issue being addressed is what to do with that cord that has one failed light"
The spares for my xmas lights are long used up :) You can get replacement bulbs but they are not cheap. And I think most people just CBA to fix something when you can go on amazon and get a replacement that will be delivered the next day.
I have proven to my wife's satisfaction that we cannot 5hrow anything away as we'll need it within two weeks if we do. On multiple occasions this has happened and we have had to buy new so that she has grudgingly accepted that I can keep all the cables and mysterious widgets as long as they are not on display
Wow! How'd you do that? And how many things did you have to vandalise to make the point to her satisfaction??
disposable vapes
Each throw-away vape contains a AA size Li-Ion battery, mostly discharged, connected directly to a resistive heating element. It's like throwing cigarette butts into the rubbish. Around here, it is the cause of a truck or dump smolder-event every day, and a live fire a couple of times a week.
Aus is on the way to making vapes prescription-only. They've started with an outright ban on disposable vapes.