Packaging Waste Regulations

A business is involved with handling packaging in one of four ways, as:

• material manufacturer or importer;
• converter, i.e. takes a material and makes it into a packaging material;
• packer/filler; and/or
• seller.

Using the example of a 200 litre drum, the raw material manufacturer is the company which rolls the steel sheet from which the drum is made.

The converter takes the steel sheet and turns it into drums.

The packer/filler fills the drum with, for example, paint.

The seller sells the drum full of paint to the company which will use the paint and discard the drum.

The purpose of these Regulations is to ensure that the four parties who have been identified as having most responsibility in specifying the means of packaging take a proportionate responsibility for ensuring that the packaging has the smallest environmental impact throughout its life cycle.

To achieve this, the four parties share the responsibility for ensuring that a percentage (by weight) of all the packaging material they handle is recovered or recycled (see Waste hierarchy in waste minimisation).

Businesses comply with these Regulations by obtaining Packaging Recycling Notes (PRN) from reprocessors who are licensed by the Environment Agency. A business can either find the PRNs themselves or join a compliance scheme which pools its member companies’ obligations.

Those responsible for packaging waste in a business should be aware that the obligation for imported packaging materials is ‘rolled up’ and is solely the responsibility of the importer.

Even quite small businesses have an obligation under these Regulations.

WEEE Electrical and Electronic Equipment

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive is another example of producer responsibility legislation from the European Union. The Directive (2002/96/EC) was published in 2003 and was due to be transposed into national legislation by 13 August 2005.

The Regulations were laid on 12 December 2006. By 15 March 2007 producers will need to join an approved producer compliance scheme to ensure that they are able to comply with the Directive from 1 July 2007.

The Regulations makes producers of such equipment responsible for the recovery and disposal of their products at the end of their life. The legislation applies to equipment in the following 10 categories:

• large Household
• small Household
• IT and telecommunications
• consumer equipment
• lighting equipment
• electrical and electronic tools
• toys, leisure & sports
• medical devices
• monitoring equipment
• automatic dispensers

The WEEE Directive itself gives an indicative list of the types of equipment expected to be covered in each of these categories. The DTI has also produced its own UK guidance that aims to help companies decide whether or not their equipment falls into the scope of the Directive.

Obligations for producers

Implementation of the Directive in the UK has not yet taken place. However, it is likely that producers of electrical and electronic equipment will be expected to register either with the Environment Agency or with a compliance scheme when the legislation is transposed. Recycling obligations will be calculated on the basis of company market share in each of the 10 categories listed in the Directive. Producers will be required to demonstrate recycling through the collection and retention of WEEE Recycling Notes (WRNs).

Obligations for business users

As well as making producers of EEE responsible for recovery and recycling, there are also some obligations for business users of EEE, when the equipment they are using comes to the end of its life. Business user obligations are:

• For Historical WEEE (sold before 13 Aug 2005) - If no ‘like for like’ replacement, then the end business user is responsible for disposal,
  If ‘like for like’ replacement of equipment, the supplier (producer) is responsible.
• New Business WEEE (sold after 13 Aug 2005) - The producer is responsible, unless otherwise agreed with the business user.

However, business users of WEEE are not expected to be required to register with the Environment Agency.

For further information visit the DTI website.

The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2005

These Regulations transpose the Restriction of Hazardous Substance in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Directive. The Directive (2002/95/EC) restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in new electrical and electronic equipment. Therefore, it affects the design of electrical and electronic equipment.

It applies to all categories of equipment listed in the WEEE Directive except medical devices, monitoring and control instruments, or spare parts sold before 2006. There are also other specific exemptions for certain equipment from RoHS.

The Regulations require that from 1 July 2006 new EEE must contain only specified levels of:

• lead
• mercury
• cadmium
• hexavalent chromium
• polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs)
• polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PDBEs)

Proposed levels are 0.01% by weight for cadmium, 0.1% for all other substances ‘per weight of homogeneous material’.

Companies are required to survey their sub component suppliers and ask for a guarantee of compliance with RoHS. There are no mandatory requirements for companies to carry out scientific analysis of their materials under the regulations. You must, therefore, make a decision about whether this is necessary or whether you’re confident that the components are already compliant.

The European Commission continues to consult on specific exemptions to the RoHS Directive.

The Regulator is the National Weights and Measures Laboratory.

End of life vehicles

In time, this will lead to a levy on the price of new vehicles which will pay for the environmentally-friendly recycling of old vehicles.

Visit the Environment Agency website.