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Electrical and electronic waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK. Around 1.8 million tonnes are generated every year.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations aim to reduce the amount of this waste going to landfill and improve recovery and recycling rates.
You will need to comply with the WEEE Regulations if you:
- manufacture or import electrical or electronic equipment
- distribute electrical or electronic equipment
- generate any electrical or electronic waste
- collect electrical or electronic waste from your customers for treatment or disposal
- operate a waste treatment facility
- export electrical or electronic waste.
- What are the WEEE Regulations?
- Do the WEEE Regulations apply to your business?
- Exemptions from the WEEE Regulations
- Your business’ electrical and electronic equipment
- WEEE that is hazardous/special waste
What are the WEEE Regulations?
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations apply to electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) in the categories listed below with a voltage of up to 1000 volts for alternating current or up to 1500 volts for direct current.
You will need to comply with the WEEE Regulations if you generate, handle or dispose of waste that falls under one of ten categories of WEEE:
- Large household appliances
- Small household appliances
- IT and telecommunications equipment
- Consumer equipment
- Lighting equipment (Inc fluorescent lamps)
- Electrical and electronic tools
- Toys, leisure and sports equipment
- Medical devices
- Monitoring and control equipment
- Automatic dispensers.
The WEEE Regulations apply to importers, producers, retailers and users of EEE, and to businesses that treat or recover WEEE.
'Historic' and 'future' WEEE
WEEE products are also categorised depending on when they were placed onto the UK market. The responsibility for WEEE disposal differs for historic and future WEEE. This responsibility affects both producers and businesses that use EEE.
- Products placed onto the market before 13 August 2005 are called 'historic WEEE'.
- Products placed onto the market after 13 August 2005 are called 'future WEEE'.
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Do the WEEE Regulations apply to your business?
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations apply to almost all businesses. You will need to comply with them if your business:
- manufactures electrical and electronic equipment (EEE)
- imports EEE
- re-brands EEE
- distributes EEE
- sells EEE
- stores WEEE
- treats WEEE
- dismantles WEEE
- recycles WEEE
- disposes of WEEE
- uses WEEE
- repairs or refurbishes WEEE.
Some WEEE may also be classed as hazardous waste, which may mean that your business needs to register with the environment agency as a hazardous waste producer and ensure that consignment notes are completed for any WEEE that leaves your premises to be disposed of.
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Exemptions from the WEEE Regulations
Some types of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) are exempt from the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. They include the following equipment:
- Equipment that does not use electricity through battery or mains supply to fulfil its main function.
- Equipment that is part of another type of equipment that is not covered by the WEEE Regulations. However, other waste regulations may apply to them, for example the End-of-Life Vehicle Regulations cover the electrical components of vehicles.
- Equipment designed to protect the UK’s national security.
- Filament light bulbs.
- Household light fittings of any kind.
- Large industrial tools, permanently fixed in industrial machinery or an industrial location.
- High-voltage equipment that is designed for use with a voltage rating exceeding 1,000 volts AC or 1,500 volts DC.
- Contaminated medical implants and medical equipment.
- Spare parts that are used to repair EEE.
Consumables for EEE, such as printer cartridges, are also exempt. However the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Regulations may still apply to them.
If you are unsure if your wastes fall under exemtions or other legislation, please contact us for advice on disposing of electrical wastes.
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Your business’ electrical and electronic equipment
All businesses that use electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) must comply with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. This includes all domestic or household EEE that you may use on your premises. For all non-household EEE either the producer or end user is responsible for the disposal of the products.
If you give your WEEE to someone else you must ensure that they are a registered waste carrier or other approved person. You must ensure that it is accompanied by a waste transfer note or hazardous waste consignment note (as appropriate) and taken to a suitable facility to be treated and recycled.
You must obtain and keep proof that your WEEE was given to a waste management business, and was treated and disposed of in an environmentally sound way.
When is disposal free?
Your business can return WEEE free of charge to the manufacturer of the equipment if it was sold to you new after 13 August 2005.
If you are replacing WEEE produced before 13 August with new equivalent EEE, you can return the WEEE free of charge to the manufacturer of your new equipment.
If you rent or lease EEE you can also return WEEE free of charge to your equipment supplier.
When buying new EEE you should ensure that you obtain and keep the producer registration number. This will allow you to contact the producer when you need to dispose of the products.
In these circumstances the producer’s compliance scheme is responsible for the WEEE. The original producer can give you information on the take-back system available to you. Your EEE supplier can provide you with their contact details.
Your EEE suppliers and retailers can dispose of business WEEE for you, but they may charge you for this service.
If the producer of your EEE refuses to take responsibility for your waste, contact your environmental regulator. Remember to look for the bar underneath the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol. This confirms that the WEEE is non-historic (produced after 13 August 2005) and disposal is the responsibly of the producer of the EEE. Historic WEEE products do not have the bar and all producers must accept it, regardless of who actually produced it, so long as you are purchasing a similar replacement product.
When do you have to pay for disposal?
You must arrange and pay for the transfer of WEEE to an appropriately licensed facility if you:
- are discarding EEE which was purchased before 13 August 2005 (known as historic WEEE), and are not replacing it with equivalent EEE
- cannot trace the producer or its compliance scheme
- negotiate an alternative arrangement with your supplier.
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WEEE that is hazardous waste
Some waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is classified as hazardous/special waste. This includes WEEE that contains:
- polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- ozone depleting substances (ODS) (eg fridges and freezers)
- asbestos
- cadmium
- lead
- cathode ray tubes, found in televisions and older computer monitors.
If you are responsible for disposing of WEEE and it contains hazardous/special waste, you must make sure it is treated at an approved authorised treatment facility.
The equipment must be de-polluted. However, de-pollution will not always remove all hazardous components. The equipment may still need to be treated as hazardous/special waste.
If you bought electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) before 13 August 2005 and there is no like-for-like replacement, you are responsible for ensuring the equipment is disposed of appropriately.
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