Argos has completed a three month trial with Wincanton to recycle its electrical and electronic returns ahead of the introduction of the electrical waste legislation (WEEE) next year.
In the trial, Wincanton managed Argos’s returned electrical and electronic goods, and achieved recycling rates of over 95 per cent from the products treated at its WEEE recycling plant in Billingham on Teesside. Items handled ranged from alarm clocks and DVD players, to lawnmowers and microwaves.
Valuable materials including metals, plastics and circuit boards, were extracted from the process and separated to be used in the manufacture of new electrical and electronic devices.
The trial was conducted in a WEEE compliant manner, giving Argos the opportunity to understand their electrical and electronic waste stream through returns and to appreciate better the way waste needs to be segregated to minimise the impact on landfill.
Mark Jones, the project manager at Argos said: “The recycling of electrical and electronic equipment poses unique challenges and our work with Wincanton has helped to illustrate ways in which we can achieve best practice in recycling WEEE.”
