Electronic waste (e-waste) recycling 101: everything you need to know

05/02/25 Wavenet
Electronic recycling

Discover the truth about e-waste: common questions answered 

Did you know electronic waste (e-waste) has become the world's most rapidly growing waste problem?

Worldwide, we generate around 62 million tons of e-waste every year. No matter how well we think we are doing, we can all reduce waste, and take steps to help save the planet. Here, we answer some common questions customers ask when considering e-waste recycling and data destruction solutions. Hopefully, this will help inform your decisions and allow you to choose the best option for your organisation.

What is e-waste?

E-waste refers to any broken or unwanted electronic device that’s been or is to be discarded. This includes corporate equipment such as tablets, laptops, monitors, printers, keyboards, and mobiles, as well as consumer equipment - from your fridge to your hairdryer.

Why is e-waste a growing problem?

Millions of electrical and electronic devices are discarded yearly as products break or reach their end-of-life. E-waste contains extremely toxic materials such as lead, mercury, brominated flame retardants (BFR), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) that, if not disposed of correctly, can seep into the environment, potentially having disastrous consequences to human health, as well as the environment.

Why should my organisation recycle old electronics?

Recycling old electronics prevents harmful materials from ending up in landfills, causing damage to the environment. WEEE-compliant recycling ensures that equipment is handled safely and correctly, mitigating the risk to human health and the environment. Recycling also facilitates the recovery and reuse of valuable materials such as copper and gold for future devices, so it’s a win-win! As an added bonus, recycling your e-waste contributes to your ESG objectives and the UK government’s net zero strategy.

How can e-waste recycling help my business?

Recycling e-waste can help your business by ensuring compliance, protecting data, and returning financial benefits.

In addition to complying with environmental regulations like the Environment Act 2021, many examples of e-waste hold sensitive data. E-waste recycling ensures secure data destruction in compliance with the Data Protection Act, minimising the risk of data breaches or legal issues from dormant hardware. There are also financial benefits, as you can recover valuable materials that can be reused or sold to make new devices.

How much e-waste is currently recycled?

Less than 22.3% of the e-waste generated each year is recycled correctly. This enables valuable materials within discarded electronics to end up in landfills when they could be recycled and used for future devices.

How valuable are the reusable materials that could be recovered from e-waste?

Here in the UK, it is estimated that £148 million worth of valuable materials could be recovered from the e-waste we dispose of yearly if the correct recycling processes are followed. These materials include gold, silver, copper, aluminium, iron, and palladium and are found in electrical equipment such as circuit boards and laptops.

Is there any new e-waste legislation to be aware of?

Yes, there are! In April 2025, the UK will implement digital waste tracking regulations to enhance environmental sustainability and promote responsible waste management practices. This legislation aims to significantly change and improve how waste is monitored and managed, providing increased visibility throughout the waste management process.

When is the right time to recycle used and unwanted electronics?

We recommend recycling or disposing of your unwanted electronics as soon as you no longer need them or when you upgrade to a new model. Electronic depreciation happens quickly, so it’s best to act promptly when recycling your devices, to ensure you can regain residual value from your investments.

Who can you trust to support with your e-waste recycling?

Wavenet offers a fully certified IT equipment disposal and data destruction service to ensure that any equipment's reuse, recycling, or disposal aligns with your unique asset lifecycle requirements, and help you achieve your own net-zero goals. 

 

To find out more, call us on 0344 863 3000 or email us at enquiries@wavenet.co.uk 

Sustainability, Environmental awareness, e-waste, WEEE, Electronics recycling

Latest blogs

See all posts
managed soc
What is a Managed SOC? Key benefits and how it protects your business

With cyber security threats evolving at an unprecedented pace - businesses face constant challenges in safeguarding their data and systems. Managed Security Operations Centres (SOCs) offer a solution to these challenges. They provide round-the-clock monitoring and management of security incidents. This service is crucial for businesses aiming to protect their assets.

Read more
colocation-services
Major business benefits of colocation: cost, efficiency, security & continuity

Managing servers and infrastructure can be costly and complex. Colocation services offer a strategic solution.

Read more
wavenet IT support
How we support our customers | Managed IT services UK

We support organisations by bringing together the core building blocks of modern IT - secure, resilient networking; flexible cloud and data platforms; and collaboration tools that help people work from anywhere. As the UK’s most trusted managed service and security provider, we combine a broad portfolio across connectivity, cloud, communications and cyber security with deep technical expertise to design solutions that fit each customer’s goals, not a one-size-fits-all template. From connecting people and places to applications and data, to optimising Microsoft services and costs, enabling AI-driven productivity, and protecting environments with proactive security and incident response, We help customers stay secure, agile and focused - while building the operational resilience needed to anticipate, respond to, and recover from disruption. Watch this video to find out more Transcript: 0:05 Wavenet is the UK's most trusted managed service and security provider with a broad portfolio in connectivity, cloud, communications and cybersecurity. 0:15 We employ 1700 brilliant people with over 950 of those being highly skilled technologists. 0:22 So how do we use our broad portfolio, market leading partnerships and deep technical expertise to support our customers? 0:30 Intelligent networks are the foundation upon which everything else is built. 0:34 If the network is not robust, secure and scalable then anything that's connected to it will be affected. 0:40 From supplying broadband to designing networks from scratch, we connect people and places to data and applications. 0:46 As an ISP, we know there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to network connectivity, so we take the time to assess the situation and goals before making a recommendation. 0:56 With the intelligent network in place, we make applications and data accessible. 1:00 These can reside anywhere within the Wavenet cloud, whether that be public, private, community or SAS based services unique to the market on demand. 1:09 Azure provides you with access to technical change and run squads for transformation, engineering and support, aligned with your own initiatives and priorities and as scalable as you need. 1:21 In public services such as Azure and Microsoft 365, financial management is a critical component and we have the tools that can effectively review consumption and make recommendations to streamline costs by effective use of licences, application of Azure services and 365 subscriptions. 1:39 Modern Workplace provides secure access for colleagues to the applications and data they need, regardless of location, whether they're in the office, at home, or working remotely. 1:49 They can access their apps and data from the Wavenet cloud, or they can be delivered as SAS services over the Intelligent network. 1:56 Our Copilot adoption and readiness packages unlock productivity, making your people more efficient. 2:02 Our Desktop as a service offering manages the full life cycle of consumer devices from provision, iMac management, recovery and recycle. 2:10 Bundled with complementary services such as End User Service Desk and Customer Site Tech Desk to support your staff and colleagues, ensuring that they're able to use the technology efficiently. 2:20 Our mobile services offer cost effective connectivity and airtime plans from all the UK's mobile network providers. 2:28 IoT services can be described as modern workplace with cameras, sensors, scanners and other devices providing data and insight over the foundation network. 2:37 Once we have connected users to your business applications and data, we help them communicate and collaborate with colleagues, suppliers and customers. 2:45 We empower sales and contact centre users with generative and agentic AI tools, pulling real time data information from your systems before, during and after customer interactions to deliver outstanding customer experiences. 2:59 We protect your environment with a range of proactive security services including security testing, managed detection and response. 3:06 Seem security awareness training and cyber certifications. 3:10 Providing reassurance in the event of an attack through fast and effective cyber incident response. 3:16 Underpinned by our highly skilled people, modern platforms and ITIL aligned processes. 3:22 Our advisory, monitoring, support and manage services simplify technology management, enhance user experience and control complex environments. 3:31 Helping you stay secure, agile and focused. 3:35 From supporting your in house IT teams to fully outsourced infrastructure and end user support across connectivity, cloud, communications and cybersecurity, we scale our services to support your business needs. 3:48 Wavenet has a long heritage in delivering operational resilience services and business continuity management consultancy. 3:54 With services that have evolved to meet the growing demands of UK organisations and new technology, we deliver the ability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to and recover from disruptive events or challenges that could impact your operations. 4:09 The goal is not just to survive disruptions, but to be able to maintain critical operations and recover quickly when things go wrong. 4:16 This is especially important in a fast-paced, interconnected world where businesses faced increased vulnerabilities. 4:23 As you can see, using our economies of scale, diverse vendor relationships and cutting edge expertise, we empower customers to make their technology work smarter.

Read more
Did your cyber defences hold up during Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
Did your cyber defences hold up during Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday and Black Friday have come and gone, with the UK consistently ranking second in global participation to what is the biggest online shopping event. Each year continues to set new records, Barclay’s predicted that UK shoppers would spend a whopping £10.2bn this Black Friday1.

Read more
building cyber resilience
Building cyber resilience with modern backup & DRaaS

Wavenet and Assured Data Protection experts come together for a practical, data-driven webinar exploring the critical importance of proactive backup and disaster recovery strategies. Demonstrating how immutable backups and instant recovery can protect your organisation from ransomware, outages, and compliance risks.

Read more
API Security
Mobile app security - a pen tester’s view

The real threat to mobile apps isn’t the app, it’s API security. Chris Watt, an experienced Wavenet penetration tester, discusses mobile security…

Read more

Stay service-savvy

Get all the latest news and insights straight to your inbox.