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Viridor operates nine Waste Disposal Authority contracts across the UK, managing the Designated Collection Facilities (DCF) on behalf of those authorities.  During the month of July a total of 3,674 tonnes of WEEE was successfully separated and sent for recycling from those various facilities.

This total amount incorporates all five major WEEE streams recorded by Authorised Approved Treatment facilities (AATF) and Viridor.  The result is the emergence of a national picture for Viridor operations across the nine contracts. 

Before the Directive took full effect the majority of non-hazardous electrical items were mixed together with scrap metal, however with segregation now an essential requirement a breakdown of the results is now possible.

Speaking on behalf of Viridor, National Recycling Manager, Mr. Bill Griffiths said:
"Not surprisingly the highest tonnage of WEEE is from the large domestic appliance sector.  These figures tie in with our predictions after an earlier trial we carried out with West Sussex County Council."

The small domestic appliances are delivering substantial amounts with a forecast annual tonnage approaching 12,000 tonnes across the 93 local authority DCF managed by Viridor.  These sites represent approximately 9 per cent of the total number of household waste recycling centres, registered as DCF.

Over the past month most DCF have witnessed the implications of the WEEE Directive on recycling centre operations. In West Sussex the small domestic appliances tonnage is 40 per cent greater than the fridge tonnage, which may come as a surprise to some.

However, it is still early days and uncertainty within the industry remains.

Mr. Griffiths added: "I believe that there's still some confusion among Authorised Approved Treatment Facilities as to how, in practice, the evidence note system is going to work.  With Viridor carrying the costs associated with segregating over 3,000 tonnes of WEEE a month, cash flow in from Producer Compliance Schemes is critical."