By 15 March 2007 producers should have joined an approved producer compliance scheme to ensure that they were 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 BERR website.
See EEF Register of Environmental Legislation