Reuse and recycling of waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

Implemented in 2007, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations set about increasing the reuse and recycling of waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment by reducing the amount of WEEE going to landfill.

The regulations aim to improve the environmental performance of businesses that manufacture, supply, use, recycle and recover EEE. You may have obligations under the WEEE Regulations if you are a business which sells electrical or electronic equipment.

The Regulations affect all parties in the electronics industry in one way or another but the primary groups are producers who become responsible for financing the end-of-life treatment of their products, and distributors who become responsible in some cases for taking-back end-of-life products when new products are purchased.

The regulations require all producers of electrical and electronic equipment to join a compliance scheme which manages the process on their behalf, and schemes such as Recolight – which works on behalf of the lighting industry – provide these services free of charge to the end user.

Under the Regulations the producer funds its share of the collection, recycling and environmentally friendly disposal. But it is the end user that has ultimate responsibility for making sure the product is recycled when it reaches end of life.