All you need to know about the WEEE Directive
We understand the WEEE regulations are quite complicated with many different clauses and sections… which is why we are trying to give you as simple explanation as possible about them. In an effort to make the regulations as easy to understand as possible, here are 10 of our most popular questions about the directive:
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WEEE stands for “Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment” which is any piece of waste or unwanted equipment that is powered by a battery or electrical plug. In order to qualify as WEEE, the item will have to operate with an electric current. WEEE has been broken down into the following categories:
- IT & Office Machines
- Fridges & Freezers
- Small Appliances
- Large Appliances
- Audio & Visual
- Electrical Tools
- Toys & Leisure Equipment
- Monitoring & Control Equipment
- Automatic Dispensers
- Industrial Appliances
Some items are exempt from the directive, such as large scale fixed industrial machinery.
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The different parties with varying WEEE responsibilities are as follows;
Producers
Producers either manufacture or import electrical equipment for resale. They are responsible for the goods they produce until the ‘end of their life’. Producers are required to join a “Compliance Scheme” to dispose of their electrical waste.
Distributors / Retailers
Distributors sell electrical waste directly to consumers and are required to provide or contribute to a ‘take-back’ scheme for household users to deposit their electrical waste for recycling.
Businesses and non-household users of electrical equipment
If you are a business or non-household user who purchases electrical equipment for business purposes you will need to finance its eventual environmentally sound disposal.
Electro Collect has been established to give businesses an efficient collection & recycling solution.
End Users / household users of electrical equipment
Because the WEEE directive’s aim is to reduce the electrical waste that the UK public sends to landfill, the responsibilities of the legislation also apply to the end users.
End users cannot throw away any electrical goods in the bin. Instead, it places responsibilities on the distributors & manufactures to recycle the goods for the consumer.
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Fridges, Computer Monitors and other electrical equipment which contain harmful gasses & chemicals are also covered under the WEEE directive. Because of the additional potential risks involved with dealing with hazardous waste, it has to be dealt with in a specific way.
For more information on this issue, please consult our hazardous electrical waste page.
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The WEEE directive has been part of the EU’s policy since 2005 and was implemented in the UK on July 1st 2007 which means all UK businesses now have to adhere to it. Businesses who do not comply with the directive may face fines or even prosecution.
The directive was created to encourage the environmentally friendly disposal and recycling of electrical waste. Its aim is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and therefore minimise any negative environmental impacts.
Waste reduction and recycling in general is a topic that is at the forefront of everyone’s minds and businesses are increasingly looking for ways to improve their environmental performance…therefore now is the time to take action!
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Under the regulations, any electrical waste which is older than the 13th August 2005 is not covered under the take back programs and schemes. This means you have to fund your own recycling for this waste. You can use companies such as Electro Collect for this.
If you don’t know the origin of your waste then you need to dispose of it correctly yourself. This can also be arranged through Electro Collect.
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Every electrical item we own has used Earth’s natural resources to produce it. Many of these resources are irreplaceable and so by throwing the items in landfill, we are throwing away the opportunity to reuse the materials in future.
In addition, landfills containing electronic equipment waste are contributing our CO2 emissions and may be leaking harmful chemicals into the surrounding soil and groundwater. If the products are incinerated the air becomes polluted as well.
The WEEE directive encourages us all to act sustainably and provides a set of guidelines to help us put systems and procedures in place to encourage the reuse of as many materials as possible.
The directive has been created as a way to protect and safeguard the resources of the Earth for future generations. It provides us all with a specific set of rules to help us act responsibly with the resources we consume.
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The WEEE directive covers any product which operates with an electric current. This means anything from a pocket calculator to a personal computer can no longer be thrown in the bin.
To see which products Electro Collect can recycle, please see this page
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One of the main objectives of the WEEE directive is to use our resources in a sustainable way and where possible reuse and recycle, so raw materials can be fed back into the manufacturing process. Keeping old redundant electrical waste in storage not only takes up valuable space but also prevents it being put to good use and reused for new products.
Every desktop computer made (over 260 million are produced every year) uses 300kg of natural resources, including fuel. This means that yearly, the planet has to offer us 78,000,000 tonnes of finite natural resources just for our desktop computers (Office Products International, Feb 2008).
By recycling our electrical waste we can reuse old materials instead of using fresh materials from the Earth at unsustainable rates.
Put your waste to good use today by recycling with Electro Collect. /p>
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Electro Collect can handle as much waste as needed with our comprehensive logistics network. Because our system is infinitely scalable, you can rely on us to collect and recycle as much electrical waste as needed, maintaining the same standards for all our disposals.
Whether you’re moving premises and want to upgrade your IT system or have accumulated a lot of electrical waste, Electro Collect can pick it all up and dispose of it in a fully compliant and environmentally friendly way.
To recycle your electrical waste in an easy and WEEE compliant way please request a quote.
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Although the WEEE directive states that end users need to recycle their electrical waste, it also emphasises that the producers and distributors of the waste are responsible for its recycling.
This means that end users can refer back to the retailer they bought their electrical goods from to recycle their waste, if it was bought between 31st August 2005 and today. If the electrical waste is older than the 31st August 2005 or if you are unsure of where you purchased it from, then you can take it to a local tip or “civic amenity site”.
