Principle 3: If you can't measure it, you can't manage it

Why it is important to measure

It is important that the amount of WEEE being reused, recycled and disposed of is measured. This information allows customers, procurers and the government to see how effective measures to increase reuse and recycling of end-of-life products are.

It is good practice to measure and monitor data from refurbishment and recycling facilities because:

  • data is a requirement of road safety haulage and shipping permits
  • data collection and reporting allows for transparency and traceability of processes leading to customer confidence in the service provider
  • data reporting allows a company to demonstrate progress and performance to its customers, for example what percentage is recycled
  • data collection improves the operation and cost effectiveness of product stewardship schemes
  • data collected can be referenced in a company’s environmental performance reports. 

Measuring data on WEEE will be particularly valuable for any future product stewardship scheme. A product stewardship scheme may have specific data requirements such as product type, brand, weight and number of units. These data requirements will be determined and agreed through service agreements. The data requirements are often determined by how the commodity is sold to overseas recycling markets, for example, price per unit paid or price per tonne.

Under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008, (Section 86 (1) (b)), the Governor-General may make regulations for the purpose of collecting information to help the Secretary for the Environment compile statistics to, amongst other aims, measure the progress in waste management and minimisation.

In the future, data collection of WEEE could be regulated. In addition, councils may begin to request data on waste generation in their districts for their waste management and minimisation plans. Therefore, companies in the disposal chain are encouraged to adapt their processes so either total tonnage or number of units are be measured and recorded for the composition of the WEEE they handle.

Measuring WEEE can lead to an increase in administration costs. However, this needs to be weighed against the need for an understanding of and confidence in how much material is being processed and where the material is going.

How data can be measured

Data can be measured in two forms:

  • for reuse of equipment – number of units
  • for recycling and disposal – tonnes.

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How much data should be collected

Using an example of good practice from the European Union, the following level of information is required from each member of the recycling chain. Figure 2 shows the mass balance (total volume) of WEEE into an operation and the outputs from the plant.

Figure 2:     Mass balance (total volume) information required for monitoring WEEE activities

Not many organisations in New Zealand have weighing facilities for WEEE. For organisations without weighing facilities it is suggested that a ‘ready reckoner’ be established to estimate the WEEE tonnages entering and going through different processes (eg, using average weights of mobile phones and cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors). [mouse over definition of ready reckoner – see last page of this section for definition]

Protocols have been developed in the Untied Kingdom which could be used as a starting point (see the Department of the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs’ ‘Trial to Establish Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Protocols (www.defra.gov.uk, PDF, 2.28 MB)’). The National Center for Electronics Recycling in the United States has produced brand recording best practices for electronic and recycling programs. The level of detail a service provider collects will be determined by the contract agreed with the user.

Better data management and improved traceability of WEEE through the disposal chain is becoming easier with the introduction of numerous online, integrated data management systems. The good practice collection and treatment guidelines for electrical and electronic products produced by WRAP (Waste and Resource Action Programme) in the United Kingdom have comprehensive sections on data management and reporting and traceability and management systems.


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Last updated:15 March 2011