Kwik Guide to WEEE & other Legislation
WEEE Regulations
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations took effect in 2007, placing obligations on Producers, Importers and Retailers of EEE to fund the collection and recycling of EEE at it’s end of life.
As with the PWR (see above) a Producer must calculate the type and weight of all EEE that it places on the market, pay to register with a Compliance Scheme who will obtain “evidence” of recycling from Authorised Approved Treatment Facilities (AATF).
Business end users of EEE must ensure that any WEEE they produce is sent to a suitably licensed site for recycling or reuse.
More WEEE Information
Visit the government's small business website about WEEE
Download the The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (pdf)
Other Regulations
Just click on the one you want, or read them all in order - Landfill Tax; Hazardous Waste Regulations; RoHS; Landfill Regulations; Battery Directive.
Landfill Tax Regulations 1996
Introduced in August 1996, this was the first “Environmental Tax” set at £7 per tonne of waste sent to landfill (£2/t for inert material). The Taxes have been increased each year since as shown below although the rate for inert material has remained unchanged at £2/t
From August 1996 £7 / t rising by £1 per year to £15 / t in 2004
From April 2005 £18 / t rising by £3 per year to £24 / t in 2007
From April 2008 £32 / t rising by £8 per year to £48 / t in 2010
From April 2011 £??
More information can be found on this UK Government website
For our section on the Landfill Regulations click here
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Hazardous Waste Regulations
Transposed EU legislation to harmonise waste classifications and procedures throughout Europe.
In the UK these were implemented with effect from 16 July 2005 when they replaced the Special Waste Regulations 1996.
Most Hazardous Waste was previously classified as Special Waste but new additions included fluorescent tubes, TV’s, monitors, dental amalgam and End of Life Vehicles prior to de-pollution.
As well as adopting the EU waste classifications and designation codes (EWC) there is a requirement to register every individual premise that produces Hazardous Waste, paying an annual fee to the Environment Agency who will issue with a 6 digit Premises Code (ABC123).
Certain premises are exempt from registering (eg offices, shops, schools, ships, agricultural, dental, veterinary or medical practices) provided they produce less than 50kg pa (200kg of WEEE).
The Haz Waste must be segregated from Non-Haz Waste and whenever it is moved it must be accompanied by a Consignment Note with unique serial number showing the consignor, consignee and carrier(s) details and a description of the Haz Waste, including 6 digit EWC code.
The consignee must acknowledge acceptance or rejection of the materials and records must be kept for at least 3 years. The consignee must then provide quarterly returns to the Environment Agency and, as always, there is a fee to pay.
More information can be found at this government website
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Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS 2002/95/EC)
More accurately the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, which was adopted by the EU in January 2003 along with the WEEE Directive.
This was transposed into UK law along with the WEEE Directive in Dec 2006 with effect from 1 July 2007.
From this date new Electrical and Electronic Equipment must not contain:
- Lead
- Mercury
- Hexavalent Chromium
- Polybrominated Biphenyls (PBB)
- Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE)
This obligation applies to the manufacturers, importers or sellers of products they have branded.
Penalties on summary conviction to a maximum £5000 fine or 3 months imprisonment and on indictment up to an unlimited fine and 2 years imprisonment.
There are several exemptions to the requirements including:
- Lead in the glass of cathode ray tubes, electronic components and fluorescent lamps
- Lead in certain solders
- Lead in electronic ceramic parts (piezoelectronic devices)
- Mercury in some fluorescent and other lamps
- Lead, cadmium and hexavalent chromium in certain metal alloys.
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Landfill Regulations
The UK introduced the EU Landfill Directive with effect from June 2002, this included staged targets to reduce the amount of Biodegradeable Municipal Waste (BMW) being sent to landfill.
All 250 Landfill sites in the UK were recategorised as either Hazardous, Non Hazardous or Inert then the waste that could be sent to each site was restricted with increasingly stringent acceptance criteria.
These have led to the progressive banning of mixed, corrosive, flammable and infectious waste, tyres and liquids, there is also a requirement to pre-treat all waste prior to sending it to any landfill.
... more information
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Battery Directive
This EU legislation was transposed into UK law in September 2008 and applies to all Batteries and Accumulators regardless of shape, weight, use or chemical composition.
It imposes new obligations on those who Produce, Supply and Dispose of batteries to register with the Environment Agency.
Other obligations include new limits on mercury and cadmium contents, design and labelling requirements, a ban on sending batteries to landfill and the introduction of a new collection infrastructure, particularly for the general public.
Here is DEFRA's information on the Battery Directive
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The accepted hierarchy of environmental best practice with regards to packaging is, in order of preference:
Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Recover and finally Landfill.