New regulations on the collection and recycling of UK electronic waste will cost London £20 million according to London Remade.

However, this should be seen as an opportunity rather than a 'cost or problem', argues the secondary resources market development agency.

Expected to take place in the UK by August this year, the regulations come from the European Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive, and are predicted to involve ten categories of waste electronics.

Hugh Carr-Harris, chief executive of London Remade told Lets Recycle: 'London needs to do much more to prepare for the impact of the WEEE Directive. But this shouldn't just be viewed as another cost or problem, managing waste electronic and electrical equipment can actually be an economic opportunity for London.'

Mr Carr-Harris claimed the regulations would actually boost local economy and jobs by attracting private sector reprocessors and a number of 'inward investment opportunities in the reprocessing sector' were already being investigated.

It is thought council sites will need to be used for the collection of household WEEE to meet demands, but the upgrades needed will cost boroughs a total of about £1.6 million according to the report.

Treatment and reprocessing conditions will not be known until the Government lays down the regulations.

It is hoped that the levels of precious metals found in the electronic waste, including a number of pgms, will offset the cost of ensuring the necessary recovery infrastructure is in place.