Disposal of electronic waste in the UK

[Simon]

The company I work for has a loosely written environmental policy that states that we adhere to current legislation (that is about as specific as it gets). Where does that leave us with disposing of electronic waste ? I just grabbed a keyboard someone was putting in the bin and I'll have to take it home and throw it on my own pile of stuff to go down the tip (err. recycling centre) and put in the electronics waste skip.

[grumpydoc]

I think your basic choices are:

Take it home

Ebay it

Find a deserving electronics nut or two and give it away.

Find a surplus equipment disposal firm and pay them £££ to take it away.

[Simon]

Find a surplus equipment disposal firm and pay them £££ to take it away.

Ah that might be our problem, for the small amount we chuck out someone can take it to the tip at the end of the same road.

[grumpydoc]

Ah that might be our problem, for the small amount we chuck out someone can take it to the tip at the end of the same road.

It's bloody expensive too, but the best(only?) way if you need paperwork. I've picked up more than one large box of stuff for essentially nothing on ebay because I suspect it was cheaper for the company to nearly give it away than get a disposal firm in.

If it's interesting offer it on here, or PM me; I think I can get a bit more junk in the garage before the wife goes stratospheric

[Simon]

this was just a pc's usb keyboard. I've seen little electronics thrown away so probably best just grab it and take it to the tip or find a use for it.

[bitwelder]

Find a deserving electronics nut or two and give it away.

Or a local hackerspace.

[DenzilPenberthy]

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/waste/32084.aspx

Some handy stuff here about the WEEE Directive (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) which is probably the relevant legislation here.

[Simon]

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/waste/32084.aspx

Some handy stuff here about the WEEE Directive (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) which is probably the relevant legislation here.

looks like we are exonerated but still it pisses me off that we have a "policy" and then throw electronics in the bin when a few hundred metres up the road is a recycling centre that would take them.

[jeroen74]

What hurts too is when during an annual cleaning action, perfectly good dev.boards, programmers, full reels and tubes of brand new components and whatever are just thrown into the bin.

I resisted the temptation to take all the reels with ceramic caps, diodes, transistors and MOSFETs because I figured flogging them all takes an eternity and is more trouble then they worth.

[Simon]

What hurts too is when during an annual cleaning action, perfectly good dev.boards, programmers, full reels and tubes of brand new components and whatever are just thrown into the bin.

I resisted the temptation to take all the reels with ceramic caps, diodes, transistors and MOSFETs because I figured flogging them all takes an eternity and is more trouble then they worth.

That is the whole problem, the actual goods and resources are worth so little that we throw them away.

[Prizmatic]

www.freecycle.org 

[mikeselectricstuff]

What hurts too is when during an annual cleaning action, perfectly good dev.boards, programmers, full reels and tubes of brand new components and whatever are just thrown into the bin.

I resisted the temptation to take all the reels with ceramic caps, diodes, transistors and MOSFETs because I figured flogging them all takes an eternity and is more trouble then they worth.

That is the whole problem, the actual goods and resources are worth so little that we throw them away.

Full reels, especially of semics would easily fetch enough on ebay to be worth the time listing them.

[notsob]

What hurts too is when during an annual cleaning action, perfectly good dev.boards, programmers, full reels and tubes of brand new components and whatever are just thrown into the bin.

I resisted the temptation to take all the reels with ceramic caps, diodes, transistors and MOSFETs because I figured flogging them all takes an eternity and is more trouble then they worth.

Perhaps, after talking to the powers that be, you could set aside the DEV boards etc and offer them to local schools or community EE oriented clubs

[Simon]

www.freecycle.org 

we now use freegle in the UK after Mr freecycle went power and money mad.

[jeroen74]

What hurts too is when during an annual cleaning action, perfectly good dev.boards, programmers, full reels and tubes of brand new components and whatever are just thrown into the bin.

I resisted the temptation to take all the reels with ceramic caps, diodes, transistors and MOSFETs because I figured flogging them all takes an eternity and is more trouble then they worth.

Perhaps, after talking to the powers that be, you could set aside the DEV boards etc and offer them to local schools or community EE oriented clubs

Of course I went dumpster diving The score:

Microchip Pro mate II with two adapters
Atmel STK500 with AT90xxPWM adapter board
Keil ULogic mkI programmer
some ST programmer for likely the STM8? series
a couple of the now defunct Quantum Leaps touch sensor kits
Five LPC2148 boards from EmbeddedArtists
Two AT86RF212 plugin boards from a german vendor of which the name escapes me now
Tube of 9 brand new DL2416 intelligent dotmatrix LED display modules, currently about €28 at Farnell.
Fluke/Philips bench multimeter of which I know the current measurement function is broken
Metcal powersupply

I all bought this for €1

[Simon]

What hurts too is when during an annual cleaning action, perfectly good dev.boards, programmers, full reels and tubes of brand new components and whatever are just thrown into the bin.

I resisted the temptation to take all the reels with ceramic caps, diodes, transistors and MOSFETs because I figured flogging them all takes an eternity and is more trouble then they worth.

Perhaps, after talking to the powers that be, you could set aside the DEV boards etc and offer them to local schools or community EE oriented clubs

I bet they'd even get something from ebay for that lot. Schools should be making their own dev boards and teaching kids to use breadboards.

[mikeselectricstuff]

What hurts too is when during an annual cleaning action, perfectly good dev.boards, programmers, full reels and tubes of brand new components and whatever are just thrown into the bin.

I resisted the temptation to take all the reels with ceramic caps, diodes, transistors and MOSFETs because I figured flogging them all takes an eternity and is more trouble then they worth.

Perhaps, after talking to the powers that be, you could set aside the DEV boards etc and offer them to local schools or community EE oriented clubs

I bet they'd even get something from ebay for that lot. Schools should be making their own dev boards and teaching kids to use breadboards.

In an ideal world, maybe, but with limited resources, a ready-to-go solution is a much more productive way of getting poeple initially interested & engaged.

I've always found that devboards of pretty much any kind, even very obsolete, sell well on ebay.

[Prizmatic]

www.freecycle.org 

we now use freegle in the UK after Mr freecycle went power and money mad.

My local group is Freegle, didn't know it was a National swap-over though, (politics *yawn*).
So why not use them? Sounds ideal for your needs, and self documenting.

[Simon]

www.freecycle.org 

we now use freegle in the UK after Mr freecycle went power and money mad.

My local group is Freegle, didn't know it was a National swap-over though, (politics *yawn*).
So why not use them? Sounds ideal for your needs, and self documenting.

Then they were one of the groups that got snatched back by Mr freegle who started installing chums in america in place of local moderators when they dissagreed with him and his plans to make himself lots of money. Indeed it was a bit political. Many councils had pledged money to publicize the freegle cause and this was ok when it was a not for profit organization but suddenly became illegal when freegle became profit making.