The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

From TheStudentWiki

1 Introduction
2 The major previsions of WEEE directive are:
3 Which products does the WEEE regulation apply to?
4 Who is affected by the WEEE regulations?
5 Summary
6 Internal Links
7 External Links

Introduction

The WEEE directive was introduced to minimise the impact and effect of electrical and electronic goods on the environment. It helps increase the re-use and recycling of these goods which reduces the amount of WEEE going to landfill. To achieve their aim, producers are responsible for financing the collection, treatment and recovery of WEEE. Also distributors must allow customers to return their waste equipment free of charge.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive was agreed on 13 Feb 2003 in the European law. So the twenty five EU members were states to transpose it provisions onto the national law by 13 August 2005. In the UK, the implementation of this legislation was delayed and came into force by 2 Jan 2007. It came onto effect by 1 July 2007.

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The major previsions of WEEE directive are:

• All manufactures selling products in the EU are liable for take-back, treatment and recycling of e-waste. • Inform the public of how they should deal with their WEEE. • Improve and encourage the recycling/re-use of WEEE. • Ensure a separate collection of WEEE.

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Which products does the WEEE regulation apply to?

This regulation applies to all electrical and electronic equipment which fall below the 10 major categories listed:

1) Large household appliances (i.e. fridges, cookers etc.) 2) Small household appliances (i.e. clocks, toasters etc.) 3) IT and Telecommunications equipment (i.e. PCs, printers etc.) 4) Consumer equipment (i.e. radios, hi-fi etc.) 5) Lighting equipment (i.e. fluorescent tubes, sodium lamps etc.) 6) Electrical and electronic tools (i.e. drills, sewing machines etc.) 7) Toys, leisure and sports equipment (i.e. games consoles, exercise machines etc.) 8) Medical devices (i.e. analysers, dialysis machines etc.) 9) Monitoring and control equipment (i.e. smoke detectors, thermostats etc.) 10) Automatic dispensers (i.e. hot drinks machines, cash machines etc.)

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Who is affected by the WEEE regulations?

The WEEE Regulations will apply to the following groups:

Producers will be the manufactures and must join as a member of a producer compliance scheme (PCS) which is approved by SEPA (Government Executive Agency responsible for environmental protection). The PCS will deliver, collect and reprocess equipment on their behalf.

Distributors and retailers selling EEE to the public will have to ensure that their customers can return their WEEE in store, free of charge when purchasing a similar item or an item for similar use as their old equipment.

Local authorities have the opportunity to voluntarily sign-up their civic amenity sites as Designated Collection Facilities (DCFs). If they do, they will have to comply with the code of practice for DCFs and that will require minimum levels of separate storage of WEEE at the sites.

Waste management industry does not have a legal obligation under the WEEE regulations other than being a business user of WEEE. Any business that wishes to undertake treatment, recycling and recovery of WEEE must be authorised by SEPA. This means they will need a waste management licence and must then treat WEEE to the standards set out in their permit conditions.

Exporters and reprocessors will need to know that the export of any waste from the UK for disposal is prohibited although the export of WEEE for recovery is permitted in some circumstances. These depend on the classification of the waste and the destination country. Many waste types including non hazardous wastes may require a formal notification to SEPA before the waste is allowed to leave the UK.

Businesses are required to comply with Duty of Care and will need to ensure that all separately collected WEEE is treated and recycled.

Household end users of EEE have an important role to play in the recycling of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), although the WEEE Regulations do not place legal obligations on these users. End users are encouraged to discard WEEE separately from other waste at the end of its life.

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Summary

As waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is the fastest growing element in the municipal waste stream it is important that producers and distributors comply with this legislation and help the re-use/recycle of WEEE which can save the environment from hazardous substances.

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