Consultation on reforming UK's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) RegulationsOn 28th December, the Government department, DEFRA, launched a new consultation into "Reforming UK's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations" based on a series of UK-wide proposals to "make it easier for households and businesses to recycle their old white goods and electrical items properly".View the Government Proposals The deadline for the consultation is 7th March 2024BHETA would encourage all members who sell electrical and electronic products to read the plans and respond.If you would like BHETA to include any points you raise in their response then please inform Steve Richardson, at sr@bheta.co.ukCLICK FOR call for evidenceHere is DEFRA's communication about the Consultation:An estimated 155,000 tonnes of smaller household WEEE is thrown in residual waste bins each year ending up in landfill or incineration. However, people want to do the right thing with their waste electricals. A recent study on public attitudes and behaviours found that around 86% of people think it is worth recycling and taking the time to do it properly. It also showed many are unaware of or have difficulty accessing recycling points for waste electricals. To help make WEEE recycling easier for households and businesses, the consultation launched today explores a range of measures for introduction from 2026 including:
- UK-wide collections of waste electricals directly from households. Collections would be financed by producers of electrical equipment.
- Large retailers to take back electrical items in-store for free without the need to buy a replacement product.
- Retailers and online sellers to collect unwanted or broken large electrical items, such as fridges and cookers, for free on delivery of replacement items.
- Under the proposals, obligations to contribute to the collection of waste electricals and financing their preparation for reuse and recycling, would be extended to include online marketplaces.
The consultation runs until 7th March 2024. I encourage you to take part here and to share it with colleagues in the industry.Alongside the consultation, we have published a call for evidence setting out wider areas for reform, seeking views on:
- how better eco-design of products might be incentivised
- how more critical minerals might be reclaimed from WEEE
- and how business collection rates could be increased
Please do take the opportunity to share your views with the Government.It is important that we work together to deliver on these shared goals and we would be happy to discuss these proposals with you, please email wee@defra.gov.uk to arrange a conversation.Best wishes,Emma Bourne OBE Director - Resources & WasteDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsCLICK FOR CALL FOR EVIDENCE
