The Environmemtal Investigation Agency has recently concluded an 18 month investigation into the illegal disposal and export of e-waste. The report, System Failure: The UK's harmful trade of electronic waste, was published last week and outlines that an estimated 75% of the EU e-waste each year remains unaccounted for.

The report added that "much of Europe's e-waste ends up in West Africa, especially in Nigeria and Ghana". A lot of (B2B) recycling firms offer a range of services and operate according to the law, but there are others, rather than recycle it themselves they sell on the e-waste and it is this that may end up being exported.

A recent BBC Panorama programme highlighted the issue of e-waste. This was originally shown on Monday, 16th May 2011. click here to see the report and click here to see the show.

Here at TERC, we welcome this kind of publicity as it shows the importance of choosing the correct partner, not just one with the right accreditations but with the right attitude. The number of disposal companies operating in the UK is steadily growing but very few offer the full service: often 'cherry picking' recycling opportunities and then sub-contract with more specialist, fully accredited companies such as ourselves for the more difficult or environmentally hazardous elements.