A group of UK leaded glass recyclers, precast concrete manufacturers and other waste sector groups, has challenged the Environment Agency (EA) on its permission of allowing exported cathode ray tube (CRT) glass to be reimported to the UK in the form of leaded-glass-filled concrete blocks.

The challenge centers on the fact that the EA has given Transfrontier Shipment (TFS) approval to UK-based dismantlers of CRT Televisions to export leaded glass to Holland for treatment by Dutch concrete company Jansen B.V.

According to the group, which includes WEEE recycler Environcom, this practice is contrary to existing UK recycling standards and is ‘threatening the future of UK industry and jobs’.

They say there is ‘strong evidence’ that the Dutch company may been encapsulating the glass into concrete construction blocks (along with other waste), which are then sold back into the UK market, undercutting the UK precast concrete manufacturing industry and posing a ‘huge environmental risk’.

Indeed, an independent analysis of the concrete blocks show them to contain traces of heavy metals, such as lead and zinc, as well as ‘significant’ quantities of ‘screen [CRT] glass’.

This has caused a lack of bonding between the aggregates and the ‘cement matrix’, causing ‘problematic potential strength issues’ within the concrete.

Sean Feeney, CEO of Environcom, said: “It is absolutely wrong to undermine the UK CRT glass recycling industry by allowing the export of leaded glass to Holland for inappropriate treatment that falls below UK recycling standards as agreed by UK law as part of the WEEE Directive. It is also absolutely wrong to allow the import of substandard blocks back into the UK from Holland which have undergone a manufacturing process not permitted in the UK and present a hazard to the environment and to health and safety. We are calling on the government to recognise these wrongs and take immediate appropriate action.”

Patrick Watts, Managing Director of UK WEEE processors SWEEEP Kuusakoski Ltd, added: “The law regarding the recycling of hazardous leaded waste CRT glass in the UK is that it should be treated to BATRRT (best available treatment recovery and recycling techniques).

“The companies that have invested millions to follow this law are now seriously compromised by the EA’s contradictory decision to allow export to Jansen.”

Owen Batham, Director of Elite Precast Concrete and member of the British Precast Concrete Federation that the situation has resulted in "thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste" having been imported to "unsuspecting UK companies".

He added: "Not only is this practice illegal, it also creates an ongoing legacy problem which could have been addressed before the waste left the UK.”

There is allegedly a ‘major’ order agreed between Jansen and a UK port authority to use the blocks to rebuild sea defences; however, the group challenging EA believes both parties may be unaware that these blocks ‘should be classed as hazardous waste’.

Group action

As such, the group is calling for:

• the temporary withdrawal of TFS approval of the CRT glass exports to Holland pending further investigation of the Dutch company and its processes;
• the EA to reveal what questions they asked the Dutch authorities to establish if their processes are compatible with the UK’s;
• an investigation by the EA into the nature of the imported blocks and if necessary, the re-classification of them as hazardous waste; and
• the EA to reveal what checks, if any, it has done already to ensure these blocks aren’t hazardous.

The group has gained cross party consensus from various MPs, and are now backing a call for a review of both the export of leaded glass from the UK and the import of concrete blocks from Holland.

MP and Co-Chair of the APRSG (Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group), Alan Whitehead, has also specifically asked questions in Parliament on the issue and has reportedly approached the ‘relevant’ ministers and authorities asking them to review their decision.

He commented: “Millions of pounds have been invested in the UK CRT recycling and precast concrete industries in order to meet government recycling targets in addition to creating much needed green jobs. I am hopeful that Defra will resolve this issue now that they have been briefed about the implications.”

In the UK over 90,000 tonnes of CRT Televisions are disposed of every year. Over 20 per cent of a CRT Television is made up of leaded glass.

This creates ‘over 20,000 tonnes’ of glass that is categorized as hazardous waste and requires specialist treatment and recycling to prevent contamination of the environment.

Find out more about CRT glass recycling.