Every year we throw away millions of tonnes of electrical and electronic waste, which is enough to fill the new Wembley Stadium several times over. The average person in the UK discards nearly 3.3 tonnes of electrical and electronic waste in a lifetime, which is equal to one double decker bus for every family. There is also an equal amount of waste discarded from non-household sources such as offices factories, schools and hospitals.

Modern society is more and more dependant on electrical and electronic equipment and the appliances often provide us with an easier life style which we are very reluctant to give up. However this equipment can often have a dramatic effect on the environment when thrown away as some electrical appliances may have mercury or lead solder within switches as well as cadmium batteries. It is estimated that the United Kingdom will run out of landfill space within the next ten years and by simply re-cycling appliances it will have a positive effect on the environment.

In order to minimise the irreversible effects on the planet and the worlds climate, the EC has introduced a new directive, which aims to minimise the impact on the environment. In order to comply with this directive the United Kingdom has implemented a new set of Regulations that came into force on the 2nd January 2007 and is known as the: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations (WEEE).

These regulations endeavour to reduce the amount of electrical and electronic equipment that is going to landfill by re-using and recycling the appliances. The regulations aim to achieve this by making the producers responsible for financing the collection, treatment and recovery of the waste equipment. Any business that manufactures, brands or imports electrical or electronic products is known as a ‘producer’ and will be affected. The regulations also put an obligation on distributors to allow consumers to return their waste free of charge as this legislation also applies to household as well as non-household products.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations apply to all electrical and electronic appliances and are classified within 10 product categories.

1. Large household appliances
2. Small household appliances
3. IT & Telecommunications equipment
4. Consumer equipment
5. Lighting equipment
6. Electrical and electronic tools
7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment
8. Medical equipment
9. Monitoring and control instruments
10. Automatic dispensers

All businesses have a duty of care and a responsibility to make sure that their business waste is disposed of safely, this will entail ensuring that your old redundant and broken electrical and electronic equipment is separately collected and recycled. It will then depend on the nature of the equipment and the circumstances that pays for this disposal procedure.

Fluorescent lamps and the fittings are included within the regulations as the tubes can contain mercury, therefore it is imperative that the tubes are treated with care to ensure that they are not accidentally broken.

These regulations also apply to the householder. However, in the UK we have a good record for recycling large kitchen appliances such as cookers fridges and washing machines and the legislation now aims to improve and reduce the amount of smaller items that we all throw away each year as individuals, which would otherwise have been sent to landfill rather than being recycled.

Householders will not be banned from throwing the electrical equipment in their waste bins, however they do now have a duty of care to ensure that they only pass their waste to registered Waste Carriers or another approved person. The regulations state that from the 1st July 2007 designated collection points must be established. These facilities can be located through your local authority waste amenities or may be available through your electrical goods retailer.

As from the 1st April you should be able to identify which products that are covered by these regulations due to the symbol of a wheeled bin that is crossed out.

Gary Sullivan MIOSH MRIPH
Deputy Health and Safety Manager.
Citation plc
01565 650092

For more than a decade Citation plc have been helping businesses achieve health and safety compliance. Citation plc offers a fixed price health and safety and employment law consultancy service in order to help our clients comply with legislation.

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