WEEE Directive

The Government published non-statutory guidance to accompany the UK WEEE regulations on 28 February.

The guidance

The guidance sets out the practical details of how producers and retailers will be required to fund the collection and recycling of WEEE from 1 July, and also the implications for consumers, local authorities, treatment facilities and exporters of WEEE. 
Consumers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) have no obligations under the WEEE regulations; however they are to be encouraged to recycle by means of a UK-wide collection network which will operate on a free-of-charge basis.  This network is not open to business users, for whom separate arrangements are made in the regulations.  There is no entitlement to free collections from the home. 

Local authorities have no direct legal obligations under the regulations, but those that receive WEEE from householders at civic amenity sites and via transfer stations, or who collect WEEE via bulky waste collections, are affected. 

The option is open to local authorities to register as a Designated Collection Facility (DCF) and receive funding from the Distributor Take-back Scheme to support the separate collection of WEEE at their sites.  Authorities who choose not to become DCFs will still have to meet all regulatory requirements for handling WEEE, including the costs associated with the handling of hazardous waste such as CRTs, refrigeration units and lamps. 

DCFs will have to meet the Code of Practice for handling WEEE, and in return WEEE will be collected by one or more producer compliance scheme free of charge.  Small DCFs will be able to opt to collect fewer than the five standard categories.  However, it will not be possible for DCFs to retain items from within a collection category that it has agreed to have collected by a producer compliance scheme, for example in order to obtain the value of that scrap material. 

The guidance envisages a mechanism to assist in the link-up between compliance schemes and DCF sites, but in the event that a DCF is unable to secure an agreement with a compliance scheme, it will be able to reclaim any costs from the DTI’s proposed Settlement Centre. 

Producer Compliance Schemes (PCSs) will arrange for the collection, treatment and disposal of WEEE from the DCFs with whom they have agreements, and will obtain evidence from either Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities (AATFs) or Approved Exporters (AEs) of the equipment reused, treated, recovered and recycled to the target levels set out in the regulations. 

AATFs and AEs are required to be approved by the environment agencies and will have to treat electrical waste using best available techniques, as set out in Defra’s treatment guidance.  They will also be required to issue evidence on reuse, recovery and recycling to the PCSs that supplied them with the equipment.  This evidence can only be issued if it has obtained evidence that the WEEE has entered a reprocessor’s premises or a port for overseas shipment by an AE.  In addition, AATFs and AEs are required to provide quarterly reports to the relevant environment agency. 

The guidance also clarifies the actions required by producers, importers, re-branders and distributors of electronic goods, full details of which can be found on the DTI website.