Module B1 Study Book - the Graduate School of the Environment

criteria for the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of waste electrical
and electronic equipment. It makes manufacturers responsible for financing
most of these activities (producer responsibility). 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.
In January 2007, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations
came into force in the UK. It requires all producers to become compliant
within the UK market by 1 July 2007, by either joining the Distributor Takeback
Scheme (DTS) or by offering customers in-store take-back.
The RoHS Directive will ban the placing on the EU market of new electrical
and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead,
cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB)
and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants from 1 July 2006.
Manufacturers will need to ensure that their products - and their components
- comply in order to stay on the Single Market. If they do not, they will need
to redesign products.
Regulation
All waste management facilities, are subject to licensing and monitoring by
the Environment Agency in England and Wales, SEPA in Scotland and Dept
of Environment in NI. These agencies are also responsible for ensuring the
compliance with all other environmental Acts and Regulations.
Lecture: Waste policy 73