Business waste collection of WEEE and batteries

Enhance, the support service for green enterprises in London, is working with the business kerbside waste collection service, First Mile to enable businesses to recycle waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and batteries.

First Mile currently operates in London and Birmingham (with services coming soon to Leeds and Bristol). Businesses are provided with a package of storage sacks for WEEE (£25 each) and dry cell batteries (£20 each), which the company then collects. It also picks up bulky WEEE: companies simply slap a sticker (£25 each) on the item and call First Mile to collect the items outside the businesses' premises. First Mile provides customers with consignment notes for hazardous waste and duty of care for all waste collected. Staff at First Mile are also undergoing training to separate the collected WEEE into equipment that can be reused or recycled.

In addition to creating 15 new jobs, the Enhance programme has helped First Mile to increase their collection capacity to approximately 11,500 tonnes of waste (paper, cardboard, glass, aluminium and steel) per year and reduce CO 2 emissions by approximately 5,000 tonnes per year.