Authors: Kathleen McMahon, Chidinma Uchendu and Colin Fitzpatrick
Summary: Ireland has met or exceeded collection and recovery targets for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in recent years. However, as targets have risen, Ireland’s stakeholders must identify and address challenges presented by WEEE that does not arise in collection. This research identifies two pathways by which UEEE is exported for the purpose of reuse, namely through the shipment of roll-on roll-off vehicles and through the shipment of professional IT equipment, and it aims to quantify the amount of UEEE exported through each pathway.
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Ireland has met or exceeded collection and recovery targets for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in recent years. However, as targets have risen, Ireland’s stakeholders must identify and address challenges presented by WEEE that does not arise in collection. One largely unmeasured contributor exists in the legal transboundary shipment of used electrical and electronic equipment (UEEE) for the purpose of refurbishment and resale. Although UEEE is not waste and is, in these cases, exported for reuse, these materials will not arise as WEEE in the future and become available for collection in Ireland. Therefore, this may impact the country’s ability to meet the WEEE collection target. Consequently, estimates of annual UEEE exports must be determined to be considered and accounted for in policy decisions.
This research identifies two pathways by which UEEE is exported for the purpose of reuse, namely through the shipment of roll-on roll-off vehicles and through the shipment of professional IT equipment, and it aims to quantify the amount of UEEE exported through each pathway.
Irish policies for reporting, quantifying and tracking the movements of Irish WEEE are well established. However, given its non-waste status, information on the export of UEEE is largely unmeasured and unreported and is therefore unavailable for policymakers. This research characterises the pathways of UEEE as it moves through and out of Ireland, identifying and exploring gaps where information is currently unavailable. Using these characterisations, the researchers developed and executed methods for regularly establishing estimates of UEEE exported as professional IT equipment or on roll-on roll-off vehicles. The resulting estimates, and the methods used to obtain them, will assist policymakers in closing the reporting gaps identified in the research, and will place the quantities and types of UEEE exported in context with the quantities of WEEE collected for recycling in Ireland.
Monitoring the quantities of UEEE exports for potential impacts on, or contributions to, collection and recycling targets is an important part of continuing Ireland’s record of meeting and exceeding targets. The findings and methods developed in this research provide a continuing set of tools for stakeholders and policymakers to continue estimating quantities of exported UEEE that will not subsequently arise as WEEE in Ireland. These tools and the accompanying recommendations will assist stakeholders and policymakers in continuing this legacy while supporting the objectives of the WEEE and Waste Framework Directives. The recommendations include (1) not inhibiting the legitimate export of UEEE for the purpose of reuse; (2) establishing annual voluntary reporting for the export of used professional IT equipment; (3) reconducting estimations of exported UEEE to account for changes in export behaviour; and (4) ensuring that adapted methods are careful not to compete or interfere with or duplicate existing reporting measures for WEEE.
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