WEEE regulationsUpdate

LOUISA HATTON

Technical Advisor

(Producer Responsibility)

Current Producer Responsibility regimes in the UK

Packaging Waste (since 1997) The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging

Waste) Regulations 2007

End-of-life Vehicles (since 2006) The End of Life (Producer Responsibility) Regulations

2005

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (since July 2007) The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Regulations 2006

Why a WEEE Directive?

From the Directive:

“The amount of WEEE generated in the Community is growing rapidly. The content of hazardous components in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is a major concern during the waste management phase and recycling of WEEE is not undertaken to a sufficient extent.”

UK Implementation the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

(WEEE) Regulations 2006 - UK SI.2006 No. 3289

- cover product marking, take-back and recycling obligations, etc for the UK

the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Waste Management Licensing) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 SI. 2006 No.3315

- cover treatment and site licensing in England and Wales

- separate provisions for Scotland and Northern Ireland

Amendment Regulations

The WEEE (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (SI 3454) have come into force;

these correct a few typographical errors in the 2006 Regulations, clarify some issues and change some deadlines for compliance period 2 (e.g. for issuing evidence)

Who’s affected? ‘Producers’ of electrical or electronic equipment (EEE); distributors of household EEE; WEEE storage and refurbishment sites can register new

exemptions from Waste Management Licensing; treatment sites have new treatment standards to meet; local authorities can put forward their sites as ‘Designated

Collection facilities’ (DCFs); business end-users will have obligations to finance the

treatment and recycling of their WEEE in some circumstances

Packaging v WEEE

producers can register with us or a Producer Compliance Scheme

50t or £2m turnover de minimis group registration recovery obligations funding shared across the packaging

supply chain from manufacturers of packaging materials through to sellers of packaged goods

no distinction between household and business packaging

producers can only register with a Producer Compliance Scheme

no de minimis for producers

no group registration

treatment and recovery obligations

funded by manufacturers, importers and re-branders

separate funding for household and non-household equipment

Stats ~ 4,850 producers registered ~1.5mt of household EEE and 0.5mt of new

equipment declared 40 Producer Compliance Schemes ~170,000t of WEEE separately collected in first 6

months ~106,000 hits on our WEEE home page last year

Issues Trading between compliance schemes Evidence of recovery and recycling Scope Freeriders Waste management licences and WEEE

modifications Data reporting

What are we trying to achieve?

diversion of waste from landfill; removal of hazardous components /

substances; improved standards of operation at treatment

sites; higher levels of recycling no increase in fly-tipping or illegal export of

WEEE

Thank You