MPs return to ‘tsunami’ of electronic waste as Amazon fails to appear before Committee
The Environmental Audit Committee holds a follow-up session to its inquiry on electronic waste.
Electrical and electronic equipment are estimated to be Europe’s fastest growing source of waste, increasing by 3-5% year on year. UK households and businesses discard an estimated 2 million tonnes of e-waste each year.
Meeting details
MPs hear from organisations and experts working across the waste and recycling industries. However, Amazon declined an invitation to appear, despite being the primary UK marketplace for electronics. Committee Chair Philip Dunne has written to the company querying this, saying it raises concerns of how waste and recycling is being tackled “at board level”.
Committee members are likely to explore the success of the Government’s waste strategy, whether moves towards a ‘circular economy’ have been successful, and what gaps remain in its approach to e-waste.
Electronic items are dependent on raw materials whose extraction can cause significant harm to the environment. Improving rates of reuse, recycling and recovery could help reduce these impacts. Failing to treat electronic waste properly can also release toxic chemicals, harmful to human and animal health.
The Government accepted many of the recommendations made by the Committee in its November 2020 report, yet it included only a limited number in its recent consultation on electrical waste. Chair Philip Dunne wrote to the Government this year, criticising the consultation’s limited scope. Commenting on the letter, the Chair said it appeared the Government was “yet to grasp fully the scale of the e-waste tsunami.”