"We realise that as with any new legislation, the regulations may be news to many smaller producers. So, as part of a targeted telephone campaign, we will be calling 4,500 companies who might need to be registered"
Liz Parkes, Head of Waste at the Environment Agency
The Environment Agency says that it will be calling unregistered producers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) as it continues to raise awareness of the WEEE Regulations.
Since 1 July, under the new Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations, separately collected waste electrical and electronic equipment has to be treated and recycled with the producers paying the cost.
The new rules mean that anyone who produces, brands or imports such goods has to be registered with an approved Producer Compliance Scheme (PCS).
The data submitted to the Agency by these schemes shows that the major producers have already signed up. However there will be smaller businesses that are obligated under the WEEE Regulations who so far have not registered.
Electrical waste is now one of the fastest growing waste streams across Europe and is expanding at around three times the rate for general waste. Every year around 2m tonnes of WEEE are disposed of in the UK alone. The aim of the WEEE regulations is to encourage more recycling, recovery and re-use, and ultimately divert more used goods away from landfill.
The Agency points out that the regulations place the responsibility for and the cost of reducing environmental impact on those who profit from making the goods in the first place. The more electronics a producer puts on the market, the more WEEE it must ensure is dealt with safely.
Producer Compliance Schemes have been set up to help those companies affected by the WEEE Regulations by collecting and recycling products on their behalf.
The Agency has established a dedicated team of staff who will be calling companies who are judged to be potential “producers” to establish whether they should be registered.
This campaign is part of the Environment Agency's continuing efforts to raise awareness amongst unregistered producers and runs in parallel with other awareness raising activities by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR, formerly the DTI), who are also reminding producers of their responsibilities.
Liz Parkes, Head of Waste at the Environment Agency, said:
"We realise that as with any new legislation, the regulations may be news to many smaller producers. So, as part of a targeted telephone campaign, we will be calling 4,500 companies who might need to be registered."
"Our overall priority for 2007 is to ensure those affected by the change in the law are aware of their responsibilities under the new regulations. In the first compliance period, which runs from July to December 2007, we want to help make sure businesses are complying with the new rules.
"However if we find a business has flouted the rules and deliberately avoided registering, we will take enforcement action. These regulations are about protecting our environment and it's important that everyone plays their part."
The Agency has also published an enforcement policy statement, which outlines how it will deal with any producers, compliance schemes and those treating or exporting WEEE who fail to follow the rules.
The Agency's overall priority for 2007 is to ensure that everyone affected by the law change is aware of their new responsibilities and is able to meet them. Raising awareness will be the focus of the first compliance period the organisation says that it will normally only take formal enforcement action where it believes that the law has been broken deliberately or when the breach has caused pollution of the environment or harm to human health.
However as people become more aware of the new laws, the Agency expects compliance with the regulations to improve.
Further information
The Agency’s enforcement policy statement can be found its website. The list of approved compliance schemes and their contact details, together with further information on the WEEE Regulations, can also be found on the Agency’s website or contact the Environment Agency on 08708 506 506