August 2007

From the 1st July 2007, VCA (the government’s enforcement body for distributor obligations under WEEE), are responsible for ensuring that retailers and distributors of electrical equipment play their part in helping people dispose of waste electrical and electronic equipment.

For further information, and advice for retailers and distributors, see the VCA website at:
http://www.vca.gov.uk/enforcement/weee-enforcement.asp

May 2007

DTI appoints VCA as the distributor enforcement body for the WEEE regulations

The Science and Innovation Minister, Malcolm Wicks, today announced the appointment of the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) as the enforcement body for the distributor obligations under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations.

Mr. Wicks said:

"This agency has an important role to play in ensuring that distributors comply with their obligations under the WEEE Regulations. Free-riding will not be tolerated, and a robust process will be in place to serve notice and ultimately prosecute distributors who are unwilling to become compliant.

"From 1 July, this agency will also make sure that retailers and distributors of electrical equipment play their part in helping household users dispose of WEEE at the end of life, as well as market surveillance and inspections. "

From 1 July, distributors of electrical and electronic equipment will have to provide facilities for their customers to return old electrical equipment free of charge when they buy a replacement item.
Distributors, including distance sellers, have two options:

1. They can either join the Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS) which supports a network of primarily local authority collection points where customers can return their waste electricals.

2. Or they can allow customers to bring goods back to the store.
Whether members of the DTS or providing takeback in store, distributors also have to make information available to consumers on how they can dispose of WEEE and the environmental benefits of doing so.

Notes:

1. The WEEE Directive aims to address the environmental impact of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and to promote its separate collection when it becomes waste (WEEE). WEEE is a priority waste stream for the EU because of its growing volume in the municipal waste stream and its potential hazardousness following disposal.

2. The Directive introduces producer responsibility for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Producers will have to finance treatment and recycling/recovery of separately collected WEEE in the UK to specified treatment standards and recycling/recovery targets. Retailers have an obligation to offer take-back services to householders. The Directive does not place any obligations on householders, and they will be not be prohibited from throwing WEEE away with general domestic rubbish. It will however encourage more WEEE to be reused or recycled by ensuring that there is a network of facilities in place where householders can return their used equipment free of charge.

3. VCA, an executive agency of the Department for Transport, is the United Kingdom's national approval authority for new road vehicles, agricultural tractors and off-road vehicles. In addition, VCA offer management system certification and training services against the requirements of ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001, QS-9000, ISO/TS 16949, EMAS and OHSAS 18001. As an executive agency of the UK Department for Transport, VCA is closely linked with Government and European policy formulation and the enforcement of vehicle safety and environmental standards.

4. VCA provide expert international testing, training and certification services for vehicles, their systems and components. Type Approval is the testing and certification process applied throughout all the European Member States to ensure that a range of safety and environmental standards are met by both vehicle and component manufacturers before their products can enter into the market place.

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The EU has instigated an information gathering exercise in preparation for the revision of WEEE and RoHS directives.

We encourage U.S. companies to participate in this consultation exercise to comment on their experience of addressing WEEE/RoHS legislation in the EU.

Further details on this consultation process and copies of the consultation document questionnaires can be found on our EU website at http://www.buyusa.gov/europeanunion/weee_rohs_revisions.html

April 2007

The UK Department of Trade and Industry has produced 2 new WEEE factsheets containing information on Distributor and Producer responsibilities:

Distributor Fact Sheet:
http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file38213.pdf

Producer Fact Sheet:
http://publications.environment-agency.gov.uk/pdf/GEHO1006BLNZ-e-e.pdf 

February 2007

The UK Government has issued new Guidance Notes (SI 2006 No. 3289).  These Guidance Notes support The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006.

They cover the obligations which the WEEE Regulations place on producers who put electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) onto the UK market and obligations on distributors of EEE in the UK.  They also cover the roles and implications for others including Local Authorities, the waste management industry, the charitable and voluntary sector, and implications for users and consumers of EEE, and others.

View Government Guidance Notes

January 2007

WEEE Regulations:
The UK WEEE regulations passed into law with effect from 2nd January 2007.

The full text of SI 2006 No. 3289 can be viewed at http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file35992.pdf

Key dates for the implementation of the UK WEEE regulations are as follows:

28 February   – final date for Producer Compliance Scheme (PCS) approval
15 March        – deadline for producers to join a PCS
1 April             – producers must start marking products
1 June            – final date for issue of producer registration numbers
1 July              – full producer responsibility starts
1 July              – distributor obligations take effect

The UK Department of Trade and Industry  (DTI) and UK Environment Agency (EA) have produced presentations containing up to date information on the UK WEEE regulations and the responsibilities of producers (see files below)

DTI – UK WEEE REGULATIONS

EA – PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITIES

Additional information on Producer Compliance Schemes and Distributor Take Back Schemes have also been made available by them (see files below)

PRODUCER COMPLIANCE SCHEMES

DISTRIBUTOR TAKE BACK SCHEME

For further information please contact:

Department of Trade and Industry - www.dti.gov.uk

The DTI has a WEEE enquiry online helpdesk which is available to take specific questions on any aspect of the UK WEEE regulations. At present, due to the volume of enquiries, there is an approximate waiting time of two weeks for replies. The email address for the DTI helpdesk is weee@N0SPAM.dti.gsi.gov.uk .

An additional source of  information and help on WEEE enquires in the UK is available form the government sponsored environment information website Envirowise at www.envirowise.gov.uk
 
Or contact:

John Coronado, Commercial Attaché
Email: John.Coronado@N0SPAM.mail.doc.gov
Tel: +44 (0) 7894 0419

August 2006

The WEEE Directive's implementation deadline of 13 August 2005 has passed without being met by the UK. The DTI recently released a draft of the proposed WEEE regulation and accompanying guidance documents, which are open for consultation through October 17, 2006. The consultation can be viewed at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/page32448.html

Key dates for producers:

1 January 2007: WEEE Regulations in force
28 February 2007: Deadline for approval of producer compliance schemes operating in the first compliance period (1 April 2007 - 31 December 2007)
15 March 2007: Deadline for producers to register with producer compliance schemes
1 April 2007: Producers must ensure all EEE placed on the market after this date is appropriately marked (with the crossed out wheelie bin, date code and producer mark) and that information is made available to treatment facilities
1 July 2007: Start of full producer and producer compliance scheme obligations; deadline for establishing take-back systems for household WEEE
Companies can register directly with the Environment Agency (EA), the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), or the Northern Ireland Environment and Heritage Service (NIEHS) or via a compliance "scheme" or consortium such as the British Retail Consortium. The EA expects that most producers will use such schemes, and therefore estimate around 20,000 registrants. There are plans for a variety of registration methods eventually to be available (via the Internet for example), but a paper system is likely to be used initially.

The implications for U.S. exporters still remain uncertain at this point because the precise registration process and responsibilities have not been clarified.

Who is handling implementation in the UK?

There is currently no clear guidance on WEEE registration in the UK. Although the WEEE Directive requires that member states incorporate the new provisions by August 13, 2004, as of August 2006, the WEEE Directive has not been incorporated into UK law. Therefore, it is impossible to register in the UK at this time. The UK Government expects that environmental agencies such as the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and Envirowise will be responsible for registering producers. According to the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) http://www.dti.gov.uk/administration/page13625.html, further announcements for registration and data reporting arrangementes will be made in advance of the opening of registration later in 2006. DTI is currently consulting on the fees that will be payable. DEFRA will be involved in developing guidance on how to comply with the regulations.

Who is considered the “producer” in the UK?

Although the final version of WEEE for UK implementation has not yet been drafted, it appears that the UK will adopt the approach taken by several other EU members whereby only locally established companies would be “producers,” and thus responsible for registration. According to the Department of Trade and Industry's Consultation Paper, made available on May 24, 2005 (available at http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file15237.pdf), "producers" are "UK registered businesses manufacturing, importing and rebranding equipment." Given this definition, which strictly limits the application to UK businesses, there would seem to be nothing an American company would need to do with regard to registering, notwithstanding the obvious exceptions where US companies own or control a registered UK company. Perhaps this was the goal.

Interestingly, this potential UK definition of "producer" seems to be in contradiction with the EU directive. The Directive defines "producer" in Article 3 (3), as "any person who, irrespective of selling technique used (i) manufactures and sells electrical and electronic equipment under his own brand... or (iii) imports or exports electrical and electronic equipment on a professional basis into a member state." 2002/96/EC. Article 10 (3) goes on to state that the directive only applies to producers who put electrical and electronic equipment "on the market," defined as "the initial action of making a product available for the first time on the Community market... considered to take place when a product is transferred from the stage of manufacture." 2002/96/EC Frequently Asked Questions Sec. 2.1. The EU directive implies a scenario where the US manufacturer that exports into the UK would be a "producer," and thus responsible for registering. Again, it will be necessary to see the final version of the regulation before making any decision.

How is registration conducted in United Kingdom? Are there any financial requirements that I should be aware of to ensure I am compliant?

Because WEEE has not yet been implemented in the U.K., it is unclear how registration will formally work. Compliance group schemes (profit and not-for-profit) are certain to play a major role, as the Directive recommends. These schemes will likely become one-stop services for manufacturers and distributors.

Likewise, information on financial requirements will remain unclear until implementation occurs. However, it is clear from the Directive that producers will, at a minimum, be responsible for “provid[ing] a guarantee when placing a product on the market showing the management of all WEEE will be financed… [which] may take the form of participation by the producer in appropriate schemes for the financing of the management of WEEE, a recycling insurance or a blocked bank account.” Article 8 (2). Implementation of WEEE in the UK will determine the intricacies of such guarantees.

Is there a collective or takeback system that companies can join?

WEEE:

Collective systems are still under development in the UK, the leading examples being Gambica's B2B Compliance program (http://www.b2bcompliance.org.uk/) and Repic (http://www.repic.co.uk/). In addition, the Industry Council for Electronic Equipment Recycling (ICER) represents a wide cross section of the electronic equipment supply chain and has accredited a number of WEEE recyclers and refurbishers. Regarding takeback, certain UK firms have run trials in this area, and major manufacturers are backing a multi-country approach through the European Recycling Platform (organized and run by ERP SAS, Paris). Overall, there is wide industry and government support for a national Clearing House arrangement, but aside from consultation, no official guidance has been issued on this to date.

Where can I find more information regarding these regulations?

UK WEEE Consultation Documents
http://www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/page32448.html

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Website
http://www.dti.gov.uk/