DISPOSING OF REMOVED APPLIANCES
KNOW YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES! A survey conducted this month concludes that many kbb installers are unclear who is responsible for safely disposing of environmentally harmful appliances and also struggle with costs of taking goods of approved recycling sites. A survey of over 1,000 kitchen, bedroom and bathroom businesses has found that a clear majority are unable to meet the additional costs of taking used appliances to approved recycling sites, with over a third mistakenly believing that customers have a responsibility for safe disposal – despite it sitting with retailers and manufacturers who have to offer a take-back service of old appliances. Carried out among members of The British Institute of Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom Installation (BIKBBI), the results of the survey suggest that a major awareness-raising campaign is needed to ensure that installers fully understand who is responsible for the safe disposal of used appliances. This would avoid appliances being left for collection by scrap traders or dumped into skips with general waste, contributing to the 155,000 tonnes of electricals that are discarded in the UK every year, instead of being reused or recycled correctly. The majority of installers unable to meet additional costs of transporting old appliances for recycling, instead leave them for collection by local authorities or scrap collectors. It also appears that 70% of installers expect new regulations to influence how they operate and yet 78% fear the
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Government doesn´t understand the nature of their business. Efforts to reach the UK’s target of net zero carbon emission are being hampered by thousands of used household appliances, like fridges and washing machines being disposed of in unsustainable ways.
The results of the survey are particularly concerning given the important role that installers have in helping to reduce the environmental impact of end of life appliances. Around a quarter of the major domestic appliances, such as fridges and washing machines, sold in the UK every year are for new kitchen installations. The vast
Other points of interest revealed by the survey include: 34% of installers believe it is the responsibility of customers to safely dispose of old materials and appliances when installing a new kitchen, bedroom or bathroom – despite current Waste Electrical and Electronic (WEEE) regulations making it the responsibility of retailers and producers. 53% of installers believe it to be appropriate to leave appliances in the hope that local authorities will pick them up, alongside a small number who believe it appropriate to use a skip (15%) or leave appliances on the roadside for scrap metal collectors (10%). 2% of installers are aware of Government approved sites to dispose of old fridges but only 32% use them on all occasions, with 66% citing costs as the reason for not doing so.
Image:Simon Hurry, Unsplash
Appliances
