|
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) aims to minimise the impact of electrical and electronic
goods on the environment, by increasing re-use and recycling and reducing the amount of WEEE going to landfill. It seeks to
achieve this by making producers responsible for financing the collection, treatment, and recovery of waste electrical equipment,
and by obliging distributors to allow consumers to return their waste equipment free of charge. For more information about
which products are affected, see section 3.2.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive was agreed on 13 February 2003, along with the related Directive
on Restrictions of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS) {see red link on
left hand side}.
- DTI is responsible for transposing the WEEE Directive into UK law, working in partnership with the Devolved Administrations.
- DEFRA is responsible for ensuring the permitting of Authorised Treatment Facilities for the WEEE Directive.
- The Environment Agency (SEPA in Scotland and EHS in NI) will be the enforcement agency for the WEEE Directive.
Envirowise offers practical help on both the WEEE and RoHS Directives, as well as other environmental issues free of charge.
www.envirowise.gov.uk
This section summarises key recent developments. More details and links to documents are provided in sections below. Last
updated 25 July 2006.
a. NEW PUBLIC CONSULTATION
A public consultation was launched on 25 July 2006. To view the consultation documents please click on the link below. The
closing date for responses is 17 October 2006.
b. REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION OF WEEE DIRECTIVE IN UK
i. Announcement: In December 2005, the Energy Minister, Malcolm Wicks, announced an immediate review of proposals for implementing the WEEE
Directive.
ii. Initial Conclusions: On the 27th March 2006, officials posted a high-level policy paper: Conclusions of the Implementation Review on the DTI's
website. The paper presented the review team's key proposals for the implementation of the Directive.
iii. Feedback: Stakeholders were invited to provide evidence to show whether the implementation proposals would deliver the objectives and
obligations set by the Directive in an effective and an efficient way. The deadline for submitting evidence was the 21 April
2006. An executive summary of stakeholder responses to the high-level policy paper was published.
iv. Supplementary Paper: Following the feedback from Stakeholders on the high-level policy paper, the review team drew together a more detailed paper
to underpin the high level recommendations. Stakeholders were invited to consider the paper and submit further comments by
the 19 May 2006.
The WEEE Directive was agreed on 13 February 2003. It was due to be transposed into Member State legislation by 13 August
2004. The Directive has yet to be implemented in the UK. A new timetable for implementation has been announced to coincide
with the launch of the public consultation.
For detailed timetables related to specific sectors, please check the WEEE Consultation Guidance Document. The headline dates for WEEE
Implementation are as follows:
17 October 2006 - Consultation Closes
1 January 2007 - WEEE Regulations enter into force
1 July 2007 - Full Producer Responsibility Begins
a. The Current Situation: The implementation of the WEEE Directive in the UK has been delayed. Following a review of proposals to implement the WEEE
Directive, and extensive informal stakeholder consultation, a new public consultation has now been launched along with an updated implementation timetable.
b. Previous Government Consultations: The Government has held three public consultations on proposals for implementing the WEEE Directive. Copies of previous consultation
documents will be available shortly.
c. Which products will be affected?: The Government is keen to allow businesses as much time as possible to prepare for the requirements of the WEEE Directive.
One of the key concerns expressed by businesses is to find out which products fall within the scope of WEEE.
In order to help businesses determine which products fall within the scope of the WEEE Directive, DTI will be producing a
non-statutory guidance document to accompany the WEEE Regulations.
The Commission has also produced a non-legally binding Frequently Asked Questions Document:
Further non-legally binding guidance can be obtained from the Envirowise Guides on the WEEE and RoHS Directives:
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.
a. Technical Adaptation Committee Meetings
At EU level the TAC (Technical Adaptation Committee) chaired by the European Commission and comprising of Member State representatives,
considers follow up issues for the WEEE Directive.
The DTI has produced an unofficial note of the last TAC meeting held on the 26th June 2006.
Notes of previous meeting can be viewed here.
b. Amendment to Article 9 of the WEEE Directive
Following concerns raised by business about the potential negative effects of financing rules on historic waste from non-household
sources, the European Commission proposed a draft Directive to amend Article 9 of the WEEE Directive. The text of the proposal
is below.
c. Transposition in Other Member States
The following report produced on behalf of DTI by consultants Perchards details other Member States preparations for WEEE
and RoHS. It was published in November 2005.
The text of the WEEE Directive is available here.
For further information on the WEEE Directive, please contact:
weee@dti.gsi.gov.uk
|
Better Business Framework
Innovation
Reports & Publications
Confident Consumers - A Fair Deal creating Prosperity & Success for All
(13Kb)
