Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment

Waste electrical and electronic equipment

Index

1.Introduction
2.Who is affected?
3.UK system for waste electrical and electronic equipment
4.Recast of WEEE Directive
5.Government documents

1. Introduction

The Department for the Environment has worked alongside the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to deliver a UK-wide system to transpose the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (“the WEEE Directive”) (288kb)

2. Who is affected?

If you import, manufacture or sell electrical goods in the UK, or if you are involved in the management of WEEE, then you will have obligations under the WEEE legislation.

3. UK system for WEEE

The Regulations require:

Producers of electrical and electronic equipment to fulfil their obligations relating to collection, treatment and recycling by joining a compliance scheme.
Businesses that sell electrical and electronic equipment to the public to take back WEEE in-store or provide an equivalent alternative for customers. In the UK that alternative is a UK Distributor Take-back Scheme, operated by Valpak Retail WEEE Services. The Scheme has established a network of Designated Collection Facilities across the UK where customers can deposit WEEE. Presently, all 26 Councils in NI have at least one site that is a Designated Collection Facility for WEEE.
Minimum treatment standards and a range of recycling targets (between 50%-80%) for different types of WEEE.
Waste operators or exporters must be approved to issue evidence of tonnages of WEEE recycled. These operators are known as Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities and Approved Exporters.

4. Recast of WEEE Directive

The European Commission has proposed a recast of the WEEE Directive. The proposals are currently going through a review process at European level. The main changes proposed can be summarised as follows:

that the scope (i.e.. which electrical goods are covered) of the Directive should be defined by reference to Annex I of the recast Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment Directive,
that the collection target should be changed from 4kg per head to a collection rate of 65% of average weight of sales of new electrical goods,
that the recycling targets should be increased,
that producers can show the cost of collection, treatment and disposal of new equipment at the time of purchase,
that registers of electrical producers is enhanced to allow the ease of information exchange between Member States, and
that a regime is introduced to monitor the export of WEEE outside the European Community.

5. Government documents

The following documents provide further information on the WEEE regime:

Government Guidance Notes for WEEE (416kb)

North South Protocol for WEEE (358kb)

Guidance on Best Available Treatment Recovery and Recycling Techniques (238kb)

Code of Practice for collection of WEEE at Designated Collection Facilities (108kb)

Government Guidance Notes on WEEE Settlement Centre (4.97MB)

Issue of Evidence for Metal derived from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment which is destined for reprocessing outside the UK (44kb)

Business user Factsheet (49kb)

Distributor Factsheet (121kb)

Exporter Factsheet (59kb)

2006 UK-wide WEEE Regulations (406kb)