Implementation in the United Kingdom

Transcription

1 1. Background and overview 1.1 Summary of UK regime 1.2 Revision of the WEEE and RoHS regimes 1.3 Benefits of WEEE regime 2. Covered products and exemptions 2.1 Covered products 2.2 Exemptions 3. UK Regulations 3.1 Implementation process 3.2 Organizations responsible for implementation 4. What producers need to do 4.1 General requirements 4.2 Data provision 4.3 Marking, labelling and information provision 4.4 Producer compliance schemes 4.5 RoHS requirements 5. Collection and take-back 5.1 General requirements on distributors 5.2 Consumer information obligations 5.3 Distributor take-back scheme 5.4 WEEE Regulations Guidance for Distributors 5.5 Designated collection facilities 6. Business users 6.1 General requirements on businesses and other non-household users of EEE 6.2 Dealing with historic WEEE 7. Treatment and permitting 7.1 Requirements and guidance 7.2 Approved authorized treatment facilities/approved exporters

2 The WEEE Directive 8. Fees and charges 8.1 Producer charges and fees 8.2 PCS application fees 8.3 Visible fees 8.4 Distributor take-back scheme fees 8.5 Designated collection facilities 8.6 Treatment facilities 9. Enforcement 9.1 WEEE enforcement agencies 9.2 WEEE offences, penalties and fines 9.3 RoHS enforcement 10. Batteries 10.1 Background 10.2 Implementation of Batteries Directive in the UK 10.3 Internal market provisions 10.4 Waste battery collection and recycling provisions 10.5 Industrial and automotive batteries 10.6 Enforcement, offences and penalties 10.7 Timetable for implementation 10.8 Government departments and other agencies involved in implementation 10.9 Further information Bibliography

3 1. Background and overview 1.1 Summary of the UK regime The WEEE regime in the UK implements the EU Directives (2002/96/EC and 2003/108/EC) by placing obligations on producers and distributors of certain types of EEE (see Clause 2) to significantly increase the amount of separately collected WEEE and ensure it ends up either at an Approved Authorized Treatment Facility (AATF) or with an Approved Exporter (AE) via a network of distributor in-store take-back schemes, Designated Collection Facilities (DCFs) and Producer Compliance Schemes (PCSs). AATFs and AEs issue Evidence Notes to demonstrate that the WEEE has been treated in accordance with the requirements of Directive 2002/96/EC and the recovery targets have been met. Separate legislation relating to treatment permitting requirements applies in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the UK, the WEEE Directives are implemented by the following Regulations: The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (WEEE Regulations), which came into force on 2 January 2007, implement the producer responsibility aspects of the Directives. Full implementation of these Regulations began on 1 July The WEEE (Amendment) Regulations 2007, which came into force on 1 January 2008, amend the WEEE Regulations They clarify how reuse can contribute to evidence compliance and make the recording of WEEE more accurate. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (WEEE Amendment Regulations) came into force on 1 January They aim to reduce the administrative burden on businesses by streamlining the WEEE regime. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2009 came into force on 31 December They amend the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment) Regulations 2009 so that details of household EEE put on the market are reported quarterly and details of other EEE put on the market are reported annually. The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (EP Regulations), as amended, transpose the treatment permitting requirements of Article 6 of Directive 2002/96/EC in England and Wales. They apply largely to the waste management industry and have few implications for EEE producers or distributors. NI and Scotland have separate legislation transposing Article 6. These statutory instruments are supported by associated guidance and codes of practice, the most important of which are: WEEE Regulations 2006: Government Guidance Notes, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), November 2009, URN09/1446. This guidance is not definitive and will be updated as the WEEE regime evolves. 1 Guidance on Best Available Treatment, Recovery and Recycling Techniques and Treatment of WEEE, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA): November This guidance will be updated in line with developments in WEEE treatment, recovery and recycling techniques

4 The WEEE Directive Code of Practice for Collection of WEEE from DCFs, February 2007, URN07/ Environmental Permitting Guidance: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, DEFRA, March The WEEE Regulations (as amended) apply to UK producers (importers, manufacturers and resellers) and distributors (retailers, wholesalers, distance sellers and producers who sell their products directly on the market) of EEE, regardless of turnover or amount of EEE manufactured or sold. There are around 5,570 registered producers in the UK for the 2012 compliance period. Local authorities, exporters, waste management organizations, charities and other voluntary organizations that refurbish WEEE, businesses and other users of EEE are also affected by the WEEE regime. The Regulations distinguish between historic (sold before 13 August 2005) and new (sold after 13 August 2005) WEEE, and between household (B2C) and non-household (B2B) WEEE. The main provisions of the Regulations came into force on 1 July 2007, although producers were required to comply with the product marking and treatment information provisions from 1 April An individual consumer who buys EEE abroad and brings it into the UK for personal use is not considered a producer. Producers of EEE (see Clause 4) must: register as a producer with the appropriate environment agency through membership of a PCS; 5 provide data to the PCS on the types and quantities of EEE sold on the UK market; ensure their products are marked in accordance with the Regulations; ensure their products comply with the RoHS Regulations; make information available to treatment facilities to facilitate recovery and recycling. Distributors (see Clause 5) selling household EEE must: ensure their EEE suppliers are registered; provide a free take-back service for household WEEE either by establishing an in-store take-back scheme or by joining the Distributor Take-back Scheme (DTS) or by providing an alternative free take-back scheme; provide information to customers about the environmental impacts of EEE and WEEE and on the need for separate collection of WEEE. When a customer does not buy new EEE, the retailer is not under an obligation to accept WEEE. Distributors do not have any obligations in relation to non-household EEE and WEEE, although they should provide non-household EEE purchasers with the producer s registration number. Distributors are not required to accept WEEE when a customer does not buy new EEE. Distributors who are members of the DTS do not need to offer in-store take-back but should direct customers to free local collection facilities Producers can form their own PCS if they wish. 2

5 Sellers of second-hand EEE and distributors who only supply non-household WEEE are not obligated under the WEEE Regulations. Users of household EEE have no legal obligations under the WEEE Regulations. However, the Regulations do not entitle householders to free collection of WEEE in their normal household rubbish. Members of the public can ask for information about WEEE disposal from retailers selling EEE or their local authority. B2C WEEE can be taken to a retailer providing a free in-store take-back service when purchasing equivalent EEE, can be collected via a local authority s bulky waste collection or via a distributor s collection on delivery service, or can be taken to a DCF. Households and businesses are not legally entitled to free WEEE collection from their premises or free access to a designated collection facility. Users of non-household EEE (see Clause 6) have an obligation to finance the recovery, recycling and environmentally-sound disposal of their historic WEEE when they are not replacing it on a like-for-like basis. Users of non-household EEE may also take on responsibility for dealing with it at the end of its life through agreement with the producer, in which case they need to keep records to demonstrate that the WEEE has been properly disposed of. Neither businesses nor households have a legal right to have WEEE collected from their premises or a legal right to free access to a DCF. Local authorities are not directly obligated under the WEEE regime, but they are affected by it through their waste collection and disposal activities. Local authorities who register their civic amenity or waste transfer stations as DCFs (see Clause 5) may benefit from DTS funding and free WEEE collection by PCSs. They can also count the collected WEEE towards their recycling targets. The WEEE regime does not affect EEE donated to charities or reuse organizations. Approved exporters and operators of AATFs (see Clause 7) deal with WEEE that has been separately collected and issue Evidence Notes to demonstrate that the WEEE has been treated in accordance with the WEEE Regulations and associated treatment guidance, and/or has been recovered in line with the WEEE regime targets. AATFs should work with reprocessors to ensure the environmentally sound recovery of WEEE and with reuse/refurbishment organizations to reuse whole appliances wherever feasible. From 2010 AATFs are responsible for meeting the reuse, recycling and recovery targets set out in the WEEE Amendment Regulations. Via their PCS, producers demonstrate compliance with the regime through Evidence Notes issued by AEs and AATFs, with compliance periods starting on 1 January and finishing on 31 December. The WEEE regime s first compliance period ran from 1 July to 31 December The Environment Agency for England and Wales (EA), the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) are responsible for enforcing the producer obligations and the treatment permitting requirements in their regions (see Clause 9). They also approve the PCSs (see Appendix III) and maintain a public register of producers. The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), an executive agency of the Department of Transport, is responsible for enforcing the distributor obligations under the new regime and for producer obligations with regard to product marking. 3