Growing commercial e-waste specialist Intelligent Waste Management Ltd (iWaste) has been granted permission to increase the amount of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) it can treat by 2,400%.

The Reading-based company has secured a permit from the Environment Agency to handle 25,000 tonnes of WEEE each year, a vast increase on the 1,000 tonnes to which it was limited previously.

The recycling of WEEE is a specialist part of the waste and recycling industry. WEEE includes most products that have a plug or need a battery.

It is a rapidly growing sub-sector with an estimated two million tonnes of WEEE items discarded by householders and companies in the UK every year. Due to WEEE compliance laws, electronic waste needs to be taken to an ‘approved authorised treatment facility’.

IWaste’s approved status means its electronic recycling services are helping businesses to become environmentally responsible – with certification to prove electronic waste has been disposed of legally.

Under the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2016 iWaste is now authorised to operate waste operations described in standard rules SR 2015 No 15 at Ducks Nest Farm.

General Manager Louise Drysdale says:

“We have been working towards this point for nine months and so are overjoyed to have been successful in our application for this permit from the Environment Agency."

“We had to undergo a robust application process during which we were meticulously assessed over a lengthy period to ensure that the quality of our work met the high standards demanded of permit holders."

“We hope it will help transform the business by enabling us to take on larger contracts and offer our services to a new range of clients, as well as further enhancing our work with existing, valued customers.”

The application process included iWaste Operations Director Sam Mountain, Compliance Officer Pauline Griggs and Louise, plus specialist consultants which were called in to provide experienced, specialist knowledge.

Sam, who co-founded iWaste in 2013 with Sam Prentice, was also recently a key witness at a Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee examining the Government’s progress on tackling the UK’s electronic waste mountain.

iWaste, which employs 35 people and celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, is based at Arborfield Cross, near Reading.