The Environment Agency (EA) has yet to investigate claims that UK computer waste is being illegally shipped to West Africa, insisting that the dumping of IT waste in countries outside the UK is not within its jurisdiction. But local councils are beginning to take measures to clamp down on the practice.

The EA, the government body responsible for policing the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, told Computing that it has not launched a follow-up investigation into revelations that PCs from the UK, including many from across the public sector, have been found in African scrap yards.

The agency said that it was unaware of any formal evidence arising from the original Greenpeace investigation, which was published last month.

The environmental campaign group revealed that broken machines were being stripped by workers in scrap yards in Ghana and Nigeria to remove valuable
components and metals, polluting the local environment and also putting UK organisations at risk of a security breach if sensitive personal data was not properly wiped from the machines.

But an EA spokeswoman said that the department does not have the jurisdiction to monitor waste once it has left the UK, pointing instead to the National Environment Crime Team, which she said was responsible for investigating the export of electronic waste.

“The Environment Agency only has legal powers in England and Wales. We do not have the jurisdiction to investigate illegal dumping abroad,” she said. “If we thought that there may be evidence held abroad that relates to an investigation of offences in England or Wales in the form of witnesses and forensic evidence, then we would consider securing that evidence, but only through the correct legal channels. We couldn’t just go and collect witness statements abroad without reference to our own and the foreign country’s criminal justice system.”

In its original investigation, Greenpeace revealed photos of computer waste from UK local councils and universities, including Kent County Council, Southampton City Council and the University of Salford.

Greenpeace investigator Martin Hojsik said that manufacturers of dumped products should also take action in response to the practice, but he added that the EA should be doing more to police the WEEE directive.

The EA said it is investigating several hundred businesses that may be producers of electrical equipment but have failed to register with approved waste handling organisations.

However, critics noted that more than a year after the WEEE legislation was introduced, there has not been a single prosecution.

Karen Conneely, group commercial manager at IT asset management software supplier Real Asset Management, said that the company was unaware of any EA investigation into waste management operators or firms disposing of their IT kit.

“WEEE hasn’t made much of an impact thus far, it is certainly not being strongly enforced by government and a lot of the businesses we come across are still ignorant of the legislation,” she said. “The focus from the government is still on the manufacturers and has not yet turned to looking at business users. As a result, a lot of businesses just don’t see compliance with WEEE as a concern.”

But while the EA will not launch an investigation until it receives more evidence about the illegal dumping of IT waste, local councils are beginning investigations themselves.

Kent County Council deputy leader Alex King said the authority is launching an investigation into the third-party companies it uses to dispose of its waste after some of its machines were uncovered by the Greenpeace report. The council is seeking more information to identify equipment serial numbers.

“This will be essential to establish which of our suppliers had responsibility for disposal of the items in question,” said King. “The reports indicate a clear failure to comply with contractual obligations and if an audit trail can be established the council will take action against the company concerned.”

A spokesman for the University of Salford said that contact from Computing represented “the first we’ve heard” of the illegal dumping, but added that it would be urgently contacting its waste contractors and Greenpeace in an attempt to stop the practice.