WEEE in the UK
The current situation
The UK Regulations implementing the WEEE Directive were laid before Parliament on 12 December 2006 and entered into force on 2 January 2007.
A summary of responses to the consultation on draft WEEE regulations and the Government response was also published on 12 December.
WEEE consultation response - summary of responses and government response to fourth consultation on implementation of Directives 2002/96/EC and 2003/108/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (PDF)
The final regulatory impact assessment implementing the WEEE Directive has also been published.
WEEE consultation - final regulatory impact assessment for the WEEE regulations 2006 (PDF)
In December, DEFRA laid the WEEE (Waste Management Licensing)(England and Wales) Regulations 2006 which sets out how WEEE has to be treated in accordance with the requirements of Article 6 of the Directive.
The WEEE (Waste Management Licensing)(England and Wales)(Amendment) Regulations 2007 amended the Regulations by inserting the appropriate charges for registering the repair and re-furbishment exemption.
Guidance on Best Available Treatment Recovery and Recycling Techniques (BATRRTT) and treatment of WEEE has been issued for those treating WEEE.
Previous situation
Following a review of proposals to implement the WEEE Directive, and extensive informal stakeholder consultation, a public consultation was launched along with an updated implementation timetable.
Previous Government consultations
The Government has held three public consultations on proposals for implementing the WEEE Directive.
Which products are affected
The UK WEEE Regulations follow the definition of scope set out in the WEEE Directive and apply to all EEE put on the UK market, which falls within the scope of the WEEE Directive and the 10 categories listed in Schedule 2 of the UK Regulations and Annex A of the Government Guidance notes.
Guidance
In order to help businesses determine which products fall within the scope of the WEEE Directive, non-statutory guidance document was published on 28 February 2007 to accompany the WEEE Regulations. The Guidance was recently revised in August 2007.
The Commission has also produced a non-legally binding Frequently Asked Questions Document:
Commissions Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
Please note that the UK Government is not in a position to provide a definitive answer on what types of equipment fall within the scope of the Directive. Only the European Court of Justice has the ultimate right to do this. Any advice given will be based upon the Commission’s FAQs, and cannot be viewed as either legally binding or a definitive answer.
Contacts
For further information on the WEEE Directive, please contact: weee@bis.gsi.gov.uk
