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WEEE Under the Spotlight

22nd January 2007

New Regulations governing the disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment came into force on 2nd January, but the market seems extremely confused as to just who has to do what. Biffa can help and has available a Frequently Asked Questions sheet which can be downloaded. But whilst the Regulations will ultimately affect many thousands of companies, electrical equipment does not have to be disposed of under the requirements of the Regulations until 1st July.

The clock is ticking fast, especially for producers and retailers of electrical equipment who both have obligations under the Regulations. Producers, manufacturers, importers or those that sell equipment under their own brand - have to register with an approved Producer Compliance Scheme by 15th March.

Biffa expect to be operating such a scheme called Transform and more information is available at the Transform website, but along with all other prospective Schemes, we are currently awaiting approval by the Environment Agency. When Transform is approved, you will be able to register through the scheme to discharge your legal liabilities as a producer, whether you supply household electrical equipment or just to businesses.

Retailers, regardless of size, who sell electrical equipment are required to either register with the Distributor Takeback Scheme by the end of March or be prepared to offer in-store take back of similar equipment to what they sell from 1 July.

It is expected that the existing Civic Amenity site infrastructure will form the backbone of the expected collection network for household WEEE and Local Authorities are now grappling with the issues that surround permitting, funding and site approval.

For businesses in general, there is currently no change to the disposal requirements for WEEE and old electrical waste can be collected and disposed of without having to worry about specific treatment of recycling targets - for now. But from 1 July, it will be expected that WEEE will be disposed of through Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities to undergo specific treatment and recycling.

If you want to be kept up to date with WEEE developments, register now for free on the Transform website.

We have also produced a FAQ document which can be downloaded here.