Greenpeace uncovers serious flaws in recycling programmes

Environmentalists have tracked a TV to expose the illegal trade in waste electrical and electronic devices.

A GPS tracking device was placed inside an unfixable television by Greenpeace and then taken to a Hampshire County Council recycling site. The set was then tracked to Nigeria, instead of being safely dismantled in the UK or Europe, as it should have been under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive.

The environmental organisation, which has been tracking the disposal of WEEE waste for three years, said its joint investigation with Sky television and The Independent exposed the serious loopholes in recycling programmes.

Millions of obsolete electrical and electronic gadgets and gizmos are disposed of in the developing world each year.

Although it is illegal under the WEEE directive to export obsolete electronic goods, thousands of devices from Europe end up illegally in countries such as Africa or China. These devices, which often contain toxic substances such as lead and mercury, are then either resold or dumped in sites without being properly recycled.

But the audit trails run by countries are not sufficient said Greenpeace. Some UK local authorities collate figures on the amount of waste being exported while others simply handed the task to sub-contractors according to the Independent.

The TV was taken to the warehouse of a company called BJ Electronics. Greenpeace said that at no point was the device checked before being placed into a container.

When we called, the company referred questions to Hampshire County Council, which has launched an inquiry into its waste sites. But the council insisted that it worked only with dealers who exported functioning devices.