The electron gun of the CRT contains a small getter plate

The electron gun of the CRT contains a small getter plate (about 1-2 grams including frame), and bears barium and barium compounds (barium oxide is considered as a harmful substance). During the shredding operation,the CRT screen getter can release harmful barium dust. Therefore, several countries require its removal. Once removed, the getters should be stored separately, away from any source of moisture since barium is a leachable and easily solvable substance. They must be sent to a specialised industry that can incinerate them in an environmentally sound manner. The electron gun itself can be sent to a recycling facility that can reclaim the copper it contains.

Cathode Ray Tubes are made of a faceplate

Cathode Ray Tubes are made of a faceplate (containing lead or barium) welded to a cone glass by a frit. The tubes contain lead encapsulated in glass that can be released if the glass is broken. Therefore, the entrepreneur is advised to leave the responsibility of treating tubes to specialised enterprises. Indeed, the staff carrying out the mechanical separation of glass must be protected from inhaling the dust released when the tubes are broken, because they may contain lead or barium oxide. Moreover, the fluorescent coating on the faceplate may present inhalation risks if they are handled in a dry state. This is why wet processes are often used to remove the phosphor particles.

There are two main industries that recycle CRT glass

There are two main industries that recycle CRT glass. First, there are the manufacturers making new CRT screens from recycled CRT glass. They often require the panel glass to be separated from the cone glass, so that they can proportion correctly the quantities of lead in the glass they produce. And then there is the lead-glass recycling industry. In this case,glass is sent to lead smelters, to be used as a fluxing agent in the smelting process. Then, smelters can recover the lead contained in the glass.

Categories of Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Categories of the equipment covered are listed in Schedule 1 and include large and small household appliances; IT and telecommunications equipment; consumer, toys, leisure and sports equipment; lighting equipment; electrical and electronics tools, monitoring and control instruments, and automatic dispensers; and medical devices. Schedule 2 provides a detailed list of covered products, broken down by category. Products intended specifically for military purpose are exempt from the Directive.

Categories of Electrical and Electronic Equipment covered by these Regulations

Large household appliances

•Large cooling appliances
•Refrigerators
•Freezers
•Other large appliances used for refrigeration, conservation and storage of food
•Washing machines
•Clothes dryers
•Dish washing machines
•Cooking
•Electric stoves
•Electric hot plates
•Microwaves
•Other large appliances used for cooking and other processing of food
•Electric heating appliances
•Electric radiators
•Other large appliances for heating rooms, beds, seating furniture
•Electric fans
•Air conditioner appliances
•Other fanning, exhaust ventilation and conditioning equipment

Small household appliances

•Vacuum cleaners
•Carpet sweepers
•Other appliances for cleaning
•Appliances used for sewing, knitting, weaving and other processing for textiles.
•Irons and other appliances for ironing, mangling and other care of clothing.
•Toasters
•Fryers
•Grinders, coffee machines and equipment for opening or sealing containers or packages.
•Electric knives
•Appliances for hair-cutting, hair drying, tooth brushing, shaving, massage and other body care appliances
•Clocks, watches and equipment for the purpose of measuring, indicating or registering time.
•Scales

IT and telecommunications equipment

•Centralised data processing
•Mainframes
•Minicomputers
•Printer units
•Personal computing:
•Personal computers (CPU, mouse, screen and keyboard included)
•Laptop computers (CPU, mouse, screen and keyboard included)
•Notebook computers
•Notepad computers
•Printers
•Copying equipment
•Electrical and electronic typewriters
•Pocket and desk calculators
•Other products and equipment for the collection, storage, processing, presentation or
•Communication of information by electronic means
•User terminals and systems
•Facsimile
•Telex
•Telephones
•Pay telephones
•Cordless telephones
•Cellular telephones
•Answering systems
•Other products or equipment of transmitting sound, images or other information by
•telecommunications

Consumer equipment

•Radio sets
•Television sets
•Video cameras
•Video recorders
•Hi-fi recorders
•Audio amplifiers
•Musical instruments
•Other products or equipment for the purpose of recording or reproducing sound or images, including signals or other technologies for the distribution of sound and image than by telecommunications
Lighting equipment
•Luminaries for fluorescent lamps with the exception of luminaries in households
•Straight fluorescent lamps
•Compact fluorescent lamps
•High intensity discharge lamps, including pressure sodium lamps and metal halide lamps
•Low pressure sodium lamps
•Other lighting or equipment for the purpose of spreading or controlling light with the
•exception of filament bulbs
Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large scale stationary industrial tools)
•Drills
•Saws
•Sewing machines
•Equipment for turning, milling, sanding, grinding, sawing, cutting, shearing, drilling,
•making holes, punching, folding, bending or similar processing of wood, metal and other materials
•Tools for riveting, nailing or screwing or removing rivets, nails, screws or similar uses
•Tools for welding, soldering or similar use
•Equipment for spraying, spreading, dispersing or other treatment of liquid or gaseous substances by other means
•Tools for mowing or other gardening activities
Toys, leisure and sports equipment
•Electric trains or car racing sets
•Hand-held video game consoles
•Video games
•Computers for biking, diving, running and rowing
•Sports equipment with electric or electronic components
•Coin slot machines

Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products)

•Radiotherapy equipment
•Cardiology
•Dialysis
•Pulmonary ventilators
•Nuclear medicine
•Laboratory equipment for in-vitro diagnosis
•Analysers
•Freezers
•Fertilization tests
•Other appliances for detecting, preventing, monitoring, treating, alleviating illness, injury or disability
Monitoring and control instruments
•Smoke detector
•Heating regulators
•Thermostats
•Measuring, weighing or adjusting appliances for household or laboratory equipment
•Other monitoring and control instruments used in industrial installations (for example, in control panels)
Automatic dispensers
•Automatic dispensers for hot drinks
•Automatic dispensers for hot or cold bottles or cans
•Automatic dispensers for solid products
•Automatic dispensers for money
•All appliances which deliver automatically all kind of products

What is WEEE/Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment..?

What is WEEE? WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The WEEE Directive which came into force fully in 1st July 2007 puts the responsibility for disposal of electrical equipment with the manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment, and requires them to dispose of unwanted items in an environmentally friendly manner. The WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive 2002/96/EC addresses end-of-life product waste. It requires the collection and treatment of electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) at the end of the product’s life. It encourages the recycling and reuse of EEE. WEEE designed to protect the environment.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulation 2006 became law from 1st July 2007 and it is an offence to dispose of electrical or electronic equipment into landfill.

The University has a legal obligation to ensure all WEEE is transported to an Environment Agency approved recycling centre, having an audit trail for every piece of equipment disposed of. There is a cost to ensuring that the WEEE is transported to the Centre.