Electrical and electronic equipment

Disposal of electrical and electronic equipment such as IT, audio-visual, white goods or laboratory instrumentation is regulated in the UK by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2013.  This type of equipment may have components that can be be hazardous if not correctly disposed. Many items are also able to be reused and recycled.

Waste electrical and electronic equipment must NOT be put into the general waste bins, nor into the recycling bins. Unwanted electrical items should always be disposed via the University's contract partner CCL (North). This ensures that items are reused and recycled appropriately. 

ALL ITEMS MUST BE FREE FROM ANY HAZARDOUS CONTAMINATION UNLESS ARRANGEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE FOR DISPOSAL IN A CONTAMINATED CONDITION.

Disposal of IT equipment via CCL helps ensure compliance with GDPR data protection standards, as hard disks and data storage devices are shredded. Certification can also be provided if requested from CCL when arranging collection.

If you are disposing of working items please try to make sure that they are packed to avoid damage during handling and that any ancillary equipment such as chargers are packed with the item. This allows as many items as possible to be resused, and is environmentally beneficial. You should avoid unnecessarily dismantling items, or removing parts, from working equipment as this reduces the possibility of reuse.

If you do want to recover components from items before disposal, please discuss this with CCL first. It is usually not a problem with one or two items but can become an issue where large batches are affected.

These arrangements allow CCL to direct equipment for reuse, charitable donation or recycling as appropriate.

If you need to dispose of items, this should be arranged directly with CCL who do regular collections. Disposal of fewer than 30 proprietory items at a time will incur an uplift charge, so it is advisable to try and gather items within your department to ensure that you have a reasonable number for disposal.  CCL can often combine collections from different departments to help with this and avoid unnecessary van journeys. Uplift and disposal is free for most items except those indicated below.

Disposal of chargeable items

Charges apply for disposal of fluorescent lamps, lithium batteries and fridges/freezers and for secure bulk destruction of confidential data storage media such as CDs, DVDs etc. (if these are not part of an item of IT equipment.) CCL will require a purchase order for such disposals. For fridges and freezers a SEPA Consignment Note (cost £30) is also required for each uplift (not per item). See fridges/freezers page for more information.

Where items are chargeable, a quotation should be initiated using the CCL North collection request form. CCL may require a photograph to allow a disposal cost for the item(s) to be assessed.