IS SUBMARINE CABLE WEEE? Considerations on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment in the EU
A statue was recently unveiled on London’s South Bank, called WEEE Man. The statue is made entirely from waste electrical products, such as mobile phones computers and domestic appliances. The statue raises awareness of a recent European Directive - The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (2002/96/EC), commonly abbreviated to WEEE. The directive is being introduced in parallel with a complimentary Directive, the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment - 2002/95/EC) This directive restricts the use of Lead, Mercury and Cadmium and other toxic substances in electrical equipment. Both directives are scheduled to become UK law in summer 2005 and mandatory across the community in 2006. While acknowledging the relevance of the RoHS Directive to submarine cable systems, the WEEE Directive is considered here.
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The WEEE directive applies a similar approach to the requirement for car manufacturers to recycle cars at the end of the car’s life. In the case of the WEEE Directive, the manufacturer must provide for recycling, reuse, repair or refurbishment and end of life disposal of electrical and electronic equipment. The Directive is mainly aimed at domestic appliances, but also covers telecommunications equipment. Within the telecommunications category covered by this directive are “other products or equipment for transmitting sound, images or other information by telecommunications”. It further defines electronic or electrical equipment as that which relies on voltages of up to 1,000 V AC or 1,500 V DC for correct operation. Based on these definitions, some submarine cables would clearly be considered as electronic equipment, while others, such as long haul transoceanic systems operating at voltages in excess of 1.5 kV and unpowered systems, with no electrical requirement, are beyond the scope of this directive. New products need to be designed with consideration of ‘design for dismantling’ or ‘design for recycling’ replacing the ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ approach of land-filling waste. Submarine cable is about as far out of sight as it is possible to get, and is designed specifically with the objective of making the cable and submerged plant as resistant to dismantling and degradation as possible.
Jim Bishop
WEEE MAN It is currently estimated that the fastest growing area of waste is electrical and electronic equipment, with the EU generating about 6.5 million tones per annum alone. It is hard to argue against the need for more environmental awareness and accountability and to raise the profile of recycling. The current practice of burying waste in the ground – for future generations to sort out, is reckless and unsustainable.
If submarine cables operating at less that 1.5 kV are considered to fall within the requirements of the directive, there are a number of concerns which will make life difficult for the producer of the cable, submerged plant and terminal equipment. The WEEE Directive places the responsibility for recycling on the producer of the product. Unlike domestic appliances, which have a design life of one day longer than the manufacturer’s warranty, submarine cables are designed for a 25 year service life. 27