Producers of electrical, and electronic equipment (EEE) will from July 2007 be required to meet the environmental costs of dealing with waste products under new regulations published today.
Malcolm Wicks, Science Minister
Following extensive and extended consultations, the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) has introduce "practical" regulations to implement the WEEE Directive in the UK.
All companies who import, manufacture and rebrand electrical and electronic equipment will have to finance its treatment, recovery and environmentally safe disposal.
Laying the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations before Parliament, Science Minister Malcolm Wicks said:
"Electrical waste such as toasters, fridges and washing machines are a growing environmental problem here in the UK with over 2m tonnes being dumped in landfill last year alone. There is currently no incentive for those that produce them to care about the life cycle of their products. These regulations will mean they can no longer shirk this responsibility."
"When I announced the clear implementation timetable in the summer it was to give business as much time as possible to prepare. Some responsible producers are already factoring the cost of recycling their product into the design process and recognise that caring about what happens to the goods they sell needn't cost the earth."
By 15 March 2007 producers will need to join an approved producer compliance scheme to ensure that they are able to comply with the Directive from 1 July 2007.
The Regulations
The regulations will:
- Enable consumers to dispose of their electrical waste free of charge at accessible and appropriate places. Consumers will start to see changes from July 2007, with new signage at their local council refuse centres, in shops, and on new electrical products.
- Give distributors the choice of how to meet their obligations under the Directive by either joining the Distributor Take-back Scheme (DTS) or by offering customers in-store take-back.
- Allow existing relationships currently managing electrical waste to continue. This is consistent with the Government's overall approach to regulation, which is to be as 'light-touch' as possible.
- Enable any operator of a designated collection facility (DCF) to arrange with a producer compliance scheme (PCS) to have the electrical waste deposited at their site taken away for treatment and recycling by that PCS, free of charge.
- Allow for and encourage the re-use of equipment after it has been discarded where possible.
- Allows for the continued collection of old equipment at the same time as delivering new goods by retailers, and some producers.
Valpak Retail WEEE Services has been announced as the operator of the Distributor Take-back Scheme (DTS) funded by £10m from retailers. The scheme will establish a network of designated collection facilities where consumers can get rid of their electrical waste. The money will primarily be paid to local authorities to assist in the improvement of civic amenity sites so that electrical waste can be separately collected there.
The WEEE Directive
The WEEE Directive aims to address the environmental impact of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and to promote its separate collection when it becomes waste (WEEE). WEEE is a priority waste stream for the EU because of its growing volume in the municipal waste stream and its potential hazardousness following disposal.
The Directive introduces producer responsibility for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Producers will have to finance treatment and recycling/recovery of separately collected WEEE in the UK to specified treatment standards and recycling/recovery targets. Retailers have an obligation to offer take-back services to householders. The Directive does not place any obligations on householders, and they will be not be prohibited from throwing WEEE away with general domestic rubbish. It will however encourage more WEEE to be reused or recycled by ensuring that there is a network of facilities in place where householders can return their used equipment free of charge.
Regulations and guidance
The WEEE Directive also imposes requirements on those treating WEEE. These requirements will be implemented by separate regulations to be made shortly by Defra, WEEE permitting regulations, together with guidance on treatment operations.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Waste Management Licensing) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 will also make provision for exemptions from waste management licensing for recovery operations involving WEEE. The regulations will be supported by guidance on best available treatment recovery and recycling techniques and treatment of WEEE which can be found on the Defra web site.
Further regulations will be laid before Parliament early in the New Year to allow for producers to be charged for the collection, treatment and recycling of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) containing hazardous substances, e.g. CRTs, refrigerants and gas discharge lamps, that are sent to local authority sites between the 1 April and 30 June 2007. These charges will be used to reimburse local authorities who separately collect and arrange the treatment and reprocessing of hazardous WEEE. Currently the DTI reimburses local authorities via new burdens payments for this activity.
More information on:
Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Regulations visit the DTI website.
Treatment permitting requirements and waste management licensing exemptions visit the DEFRA web site.