Greater awareness of the damage that can be done to the environment by not disposing of our waste properly, plus the greater reliance on computers to store our personal information, makes IT equipment recycling one of the world’s fastest-growing areas of legislation.
WEEE Technology specialise in the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment. Here we look at some of the most important pieces of legislation which we must comply with – and some of our additional accreditations which mean that you can be sure we will deal with any of your waste legally, ethically and responsibly.
The WEEE Directive
This was introduced by the UK’s Environment Agency in 2002, in a bid to cut back on the amount of electrical goods which were ending up in landfill sites. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive applies to all firms who either make, sell, import or regularly dispose of any of these types of goods. Now, all companies have a responsibility to reuse or recycle any discarded items before they end up as waste.
The WEEE directive has been updated regularly ever since and has also become part of European law. It is applied in partnership with the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, whose principal role is to check on the material content of manufactured electronic goods.
Before this legislation came into effect, a lot of old computers and laptops ended up in landfill sites. This caused health risks to people handling the items or living close to the waste area because most electrical equipment contains chemicals or materials which are potentially harmful.
GDPR and The Data Protection Act
In the UK, The Data Protection Act (DPA) was introduced in 1995 and was aimed at protecting personal data which was stored on paper as well as on computers. It meant individuals had a right to see the details that third parties, such as private businesses, held about them, and to have it corrected if it was inaccurate or destroyed if it was no longer required.
The Data Protection Act was updated in 2018 to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which covers the whole of Europe and it is designed to give people even more safeguards in a world where so much of our personal life and details are stored online.
GDPR also defines personal data as online identification markers and location data, and there are other key differences from the old DPA as well. Companies who handle personal information are now required by law to offer clear privacy notices to customers, and any security breaches must be reported within 72 hours. There are also much stiffer penalties for failing to comply with the law.
How This Affects WEEE Technology
As WEEE Technology are involved in a lot of computer equipment recycling, we are extremely careful to ensure we comply with all the legislation relating to personal data erasure. A large proportion of the items we handle contains sensitive information, such as bank details or corporate data which the companies involved do not want to see made public or passed on to their competitors.
We make sure that there is no unauthorised access to any of the equipment we handle by overwriting any hard drives multiple times. Our software is recognised by both the Commercial Product Scheme and the National Cyber Security Centre. For a full list of all the standards we meet or use in this area, go to our data erasure page.
Our Other Accreditations
WEEE Technology are officially accredited by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for our data protection legislation, which allows us to hold and process personal information. We also hold a Waste Carrier’s Licence, and a T11 Waste Exemption Licence, both of which are issued by the Environment Agency.
WEEE Disposal from WEEE Technology
We ensure that we completely comply with all the WEEE disposal regulations for all companies in London, including the WEEE Directive and all the legislation relating to data erasure. If you would like to learn more about our range of services, or want to dispose of some old computer equipment ethically and responsibly, follow this link and fill in the online form, or call us on 020 7859 4669.
Greater awareness of the damage that can be done to the environment by not disposing of our waste properly, plus the greater reliance on computers to store our personal information, makes IT equipment recycling one of the world’s fastest-growing areas of legislation.
WEEE Technology specialise in the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment. Here we look at some of the most important pieces of legislation which we must comply with – and some of our additional accreditations which mean that you can be sure we will deal with any of your waste legally, ethically and responsibly.
The WEEE Directive
This was introduced by the UK’s Environment Agency in 2002, in a bid to cut back on the amount of electrical goods which were ending up in landfill sites. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive applies to all firms who either make, sell, import or regularly dispose of any of these types of goods. Now, all companies have a responsibility to reuse or recycle any discarded items before they end up as waste.
The WEEE directive has been updated regularly ever since and has also become part of European law. It is applied in partnership with the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, whose principal role is to check on the material content of manufactured electronic goods.
Before this legislation came into effect, a lot of old computers and laptops ended up in landfill sites. This caused health risks to people handling the items or living close to the waste area because most electrical equipment contains chemicals or materials which are potentially harmful.
GDPR and The Data Protection Act
In the UK, The Data Protection Act (DPA) was introduced in 1995 and was aimed at protecting personal data which was stored on paper as well as on computers. It meant individuals had a right to see the details that third parties, such as private businesses, held about them, and to have it corrected if it was inaccurate or destroyed if it was no longer required.
The Data Protection Act was updated in 2018 to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which covers the whole of Europe and it is designed to give people even more safeguards in a world where so much of our personal life and details are stored online.
GDPR also defines personal data as online identification markers and location data, and there are other key differences from the old DPA as well. Companies who handle personal information are now required by law to offer clear privacy notices to customers, and any security breaches must be reported within 72 hours. There are also much stiffer penalties for failing to comply with the law.
How This Affects WEEE Technology
As WEEE Technology are involved in a lot of computer equipment recycling, we are extremely careful to ensure we comply with all the legislation relating to personal data erasure. A large proportion of the items we handle contains sensitive information, such as bank details or corporate data which the companies involved do not want to see made public or passed on to their competitors.
We make sure that there is no unauthorised access to any of the equipment we handle by overwriting any hard drives multiple times. Our software is recognised by both the Commercial Product Scheme and the National Cyber Security Centre. For a full list of all the standards we meet or use in this area, go to our data erasure page.
Our Other Accreditations
WEEE Technology are officially accredited by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for our data protection legislation, which allows us to hold and process personal information. We also hold a Waste Carrier’s Licence, and a T11 Waste Exemption Licence, both of which are issued by the Environment Agency.
WEEE Disposal from WEEE Technology
We ensure that we completely comply with all the WEEE disposal regulations for all companies in London, including the WEEE Directive and all the legislation relating to data erasure. If you would like to learn more about our range of services, or want to dispose of some old computer equipment ethically and responsibly, follow this link and fill in the online form, or call us on 020 7859 4669.
