Developments regarding the Treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment ('WEEE')

The Government is in the process of transposing Directive 2002/96/EC on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (the 'WEEE Directive'). The DTI have issued a consultation paper, draft regulations and draft guidance and have invited comments by 29 October 2004.

The WEEE Directive sets targets for the recycling, recovery and reuse of electrical and electronic equipment ("EEE"). It creates obligations on Member States as well as on producers and distributors of EEE to ensure that systems are in place for the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE. The financing of such systems is to be borne by Member States, producers and end users, and the main requirements and obligations come into effect from 13 August 2005.

Background

The UK produces around 900,000 tonnes of WEEE per year from domestic sources: further WEEE arises from shops, offices and industrial premises. Although fridges and freezers are treated, domestic appliances such as cookers and washing machines recycled, the majority of items especially televisions and small items of WEEE historically have been landfilled without treatment.

The WEEE Directive aims at prevention, re-use, recovery and recycling of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The Directive distinguishes between WEEE from household and non-household sources and also between 'new' and 'historical' waste. New waste is waste from products put on the market after 13 August 2005 and historic waste is that from products put on the market prior to that date.

This article outlines some of the key features of the consultation document.

Purpose of the Consultation

The Consultation Document aims to finalise the implementing regulations in the UK. It will be of particular interest to current and prospective operators of treatment facilities for waste electrical equipment. In addition it will also be of interest to businesses classified as 'producers' of electrical and electronic equipment as they will have obligations from January 2005 to register as producers and from August 2005 to finance the treatment of collected WEEE.

Issues addressed by the draft regulations

The draft regulations and guidance have resolved most of the issues that were outstanding regarding implementation of the directive and the procedures to be introduced in the UK regarding the composition and disposal of WEEE and EEE. Some of the main points that have been addressed are as follows:

• Visible fee: the draft regulations allow for a fee to be added to EEE when sold by producers to cover the costs of collection, treatment and environmentally sound disposal of EEE put on the market before 13 August 2005. This visible fee can only be added to the sale price by producers until 13 February 2011 (February 2013 for large household items). There is no provision that this visible fee must be ringfenced as separate from the cost of the EEE.
• National Clearing House (NCH): the draft regulations set out the proposal for this central, administrative body to assist in the registration of producers and the allocation of responsibility for WEEE to producers. With regard to the issue of how the financing of historic WEEE will be divided between producers, the NCH will allocate financial responsibility for the collection and treatment of collected WEEE to producers in proportion to their market share.
• Definition of "WEEE other than from private households": The financing requirements for WEEE from private households and WEEE other than from private households are different. The distinction is relevant to producers and to end users, as they may share the cost of financing the take-back of WEEE where it is not from private households. The definition in the draft regulations is taken from the Directive: "WEEE which comes from private households and from commercial, industrial, institutional and other sources which, because of its nature and quantity, is similar to that from private households". What constitutes a similar "nature and quantity" is not clear. This vague definition is unfortunately not clarified further in the draft regulations or guidance. The draft guidance states that a minimum level of WEEE will not be specified as a benchmark for this definition in relation to when the nature and quality of WEEE is no longer similar to that from private households. However, the draft guidance states that the Government fully intends that a proportionate approach should be taken to enforcement.

Requirements for the treatment of WEEE

The WEEE Directive introduces requirements for the treatment of WEEE whereby:

• Establishments or undertakings carrying out treatment operations must obtain a permit from the competent authority (in England and Wales this will be the Environment Agency);
• Priority should be given to the re-use of whole appliances, and then components, sub-assemblies and consumables. Where re-use is not preferable, high levels of recovery and recycling should be achieved;
• All separately collected WEEE that is not designated for re-use as whole appliances must be sent for treatment;
• Systems for the treatment of WEEE must use Best Available Treatment Recovery and Recycling Techniques (BATRRT). This will be further defined in England by Defra (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) in guidance on the environmental permitting regime, and in Scotland by guidance produced by the Scottish Executive;
• Treatment must comply with Article 4 of the Waste Framework Directive (75/442/EEC); that is, that waste is recovered or disposed of without endangering human health or the environment. Treatment must as a minimum include the removal of all fluids along with selective treatment of specific components in accordance with Article 6 and Annex II of the WEEE Directive;
• Treatment must avoid the dispersion of pollutants into the recycled material or the waste stream;
• Selective treatment of specific components under Annex II of the WEEE Directive must take into account environmental considerations and the desirability of reuse and recycling. Treatment and must be applied in such a way that environmentally-sound reuse and recycling of components or whole appliances is not hindered.

The above issues will be dealt with in the UK through the relevant permitting process for the facilities involved in treatment processes.

Health & Safety Considerations

The treatment processes required by the WEEE Directive and the draft regulations will involve the removal of substances, some of which could be hazardous to operatives. The legislation covering this area includes:

• The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 – these require risk assessments on activities, employees to be informed of the risks, and preparation of emergency procedures;
• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999 (COSHH) – these require assessments of the risks to health of employees from each hazardous substance; and
• The Manual Handling Regulations 1992 require that activities involving manual contact with hazardous materials be avoided where this is reasonably practicable.

The Government recommends that operators of an authorised treatment facility (ATF) should seek guidance on Health and Safety matters from the Health & Safety Executive prior to introducing new waste types, equipment or operational procedures.

Facilities

The activity of treating WEEE itself carries a risk of pollution that must be managed.

Annex III of the WEEE Directive specifies the requirements for sites at which collection, storage (including temporary storage), refurbishment and treatment of WEEE items takes place:

1. Sites for storage: to include impermeable surfaces for appropriate areas with appropriate spillage collection facilities, and where appropriate, decanters and degreasers. In addition there is a requirement for weatherproof covering for appropriate areas. A surface will not be impermeable and therefore will be unacceptable if, for example it has slabs or paving not joined or sealed.
2. Sites for treatment: as in 1, above plus treatment sites must also have appropriate containers for storage of batteries and other hazardous waste such as radioactive waste, equipment for the treatment of water, including rainwater and that suitable equipment for measuring the weight of treated waste.

Again, these issues will be dealt with in the relevant permitting process for the facilities involved.

Data Facilities

Article 7 (3) requires Member States to ensure that records are kept on the mass of WEEE, their components, materials or substances when entering and leaving a treatment facility and/or when entering a recovery or recycling facility.

Importantly, operators of treatment facilities need to be aware that there will be a data reporting requirement placed on them. The UK WEEE Regulations and permit conditions will set out this requirement. It remains to be seen whether a separate reporting line will be included for cooling appliances to avoid duplication of effort, since these are already counted under the Ozone Depleting Substances Regulation.

The consultation closes on 29 October 2004, and the final regulations are expected to be released before the end of the year (despite the deadline for implementation being 13 August 2004).

A more detailed information note on the requirements of the WEEE Directive and draft Regulations is available on request.