§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportions of the material in(a) cars, (b) computers, (c) refrigerators and (d) televisions are recycled. [110349]
§ Ms HewittThere are no published "average" figures for the recycled content of any of these products. However, there are industry estimates available for the amounts of each product which are recycled at the end of their lives, except for televisions, where the level of recycling is low and no firm figures are available.
- (a) Cars—according to figures from the industry's Automotive Consortium on Recycling and Disposal report, 1.8 million vehicles (two million tonnes) came to the end of their lives in 1998. Around 75 per cent. of the material from these vehicles was recovered for reuse.
- (b) Computers—the Industry Council for Electronic Equipment Recycling (ICER) estimates waste arisings of 125,000 tonnes of IT equipment per year. In 1997, recyclers handled around 30,100 tonnes of this equipment of which about 35 per cent. was reused and 58 per cent. was recycled, which equates to a recycling rate of 14 per cent. for IT equipment.
636W - (c) Refrigerators—ICER estimate that approximately 90 per cent. of large white goods, including refrigerators, are entering the recycling market. The former Warren Spring Laboratory estimated in 1993 that around 59 per cent. of material in refrigerators is recycled when processed by a shredder.
- (d) Televisions—televisions fall into the category generally known as brown goods. ICER estimate annual waste arisings in this category of around 53,300 tonnes, and televisions are thought to make up around 50 per cent. of this total. The recycling of televisions is not as commercially attractive as the recycling of computer equipment. As a result, the level of recycling is low and no firm figures are available.