1. WEEE Producer Responsibility in the UK – Best Practice

2. Producer Responsibility waste streams ‘Problematic’ waste stream Million Tonnes UK No. of producers Directive Y/N? Date first UK PR regs introduced Packaging105,300YMarch 1997 ELV2 (vehicles)25YMarch 2005 WEEE25,000YDecember 2006 Batteries0.120350YMay 2009

3. Key UK players - Regulation  Government  Regulators of producers  Environment agency – England and Wales  SEPA – Scotland  NIEA – Northern Ireland  Regulator of distributors  Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)

4. UK Implementation WEEE Directive  the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2006 - UK SI.2006 No. 3289 - cover product marking, take-back and producer obligations,  the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Waste Management Licensing) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 SI. 2006 No.3315 - cover treatment and site licensing in England and Wales

5. UK WEEE system  UK implemented a Collective Producer Responsibility system:  producers are collectively responsible for recovery of separately collected WEEE  UK not yet implemented system of Individual Producer Responsibility, where  each producer shall be responsible for financing recovery of WEEE arising from their own products

6. Overview of the UK regulations  Producers to discharge financial obligations for treatment, recovery and recycling through producer compliance schemes (PCS)  Retailers to either take-back WEEE in store or join the Distributor Take-back Scheme (DTS)  DTS to make available network of Designated Collection Facilities (DCFs) for PCS to collect WEEE from  PCS to collect WEEE arising at DCFs and either send this for reuse as whole appliance, or ensure it is treated and recycled to target levels  PCS to provide evidence of appropriate treatment and recycling to us

7. WEEE from private households Producer Producer Compliance Scheme DCF AATF Reprocessor

8. WEEE from private households  Finance costs for producers based on a market share approach  They are liable for a percentage of the WEEE arising in each category, based on the amount of EEE they place on the market  Thus if a producer places 2% of Cat 1 products on the market, they are liable for 2% of ALL Cat 1 WEEE that is separately collected

9. UK – additional ‘sub’ categories  UK split out:  Display equipment (split from Cat 3 and 4)  Cooling appliances (split from Cat 1)  Gas discharge lamps (split from Cat 5)  Created 3 additional categories based on above  Rationale is to ensure financing treatment and recovery of hazardous WEEE is undertaken by producers placing that EEE on the market

10. UK – additional ‘sub’ categories  Result is:  producers placing Cat 1 EEE on the market will not attract costs of treating cooling appliances  producers placing Cat 3 and 4 not liable for costs of treating hazardous display equipment

11. UK WEEE collection rates  Jan – June 2009 (6months) WEEE from private households 221,000 tonnes ( ~440,000 for year) Non Household WEEE 8,105 tonnes ( ~16,000 for year)

12. WEEE collection rates  WEEE from private households  Significant collection rates in 3 categories  Large household70,000 tonnes  Display equipment59,000 tonnes  Cooling equipment51,000 tonnes

13. WEEE from private households Producer Producer Compliance Scheme DCF AATF Reprocessor Evidence Environment Agency Declaration of Compliance

14. WEEE from private households 5,000 30+ ~1,100 ~70220 Producer Producer Compliance Scheme DCF A/ATF Reprocessor

15. Who is a ‘Producer’?  this legislation is about making ‘Producers’ of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) collectively responsible for those products when they become waste  Producers are people who:  import EEE on a professional basis  make and sell EEE under their own brand  resell EEE under their own brand (only)  for the WEEE Regulations, it’s the UK market that matters

16. Producer Compliance Schemes  30+ producer compliance schemes (PCS) in the UK  Producers must join a compliance scheme  Compliance schemes register producer with relevant Environment Agency  Failure of a producer to join a scheme and become registered is a criminal offence  Created a competitive market place for securing compliance. Competition will keep compliance costs down

17. Designated Collection Facilities (DCFs)  Sites where WEEE will be separately collected  Vast majority are Civic Amenity sites (household waste bring sites run by Local Authorities / Municipalities)  Some private DCFs. Typically Distributor hubs where WEEE from ‘take-back’ is collated / bulked up

18. AATS  Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities  Will have 2 permits  First is to authorise to treat waste (WEEE)  Second is to enable them to issue ‘evidence’ that WEEE has been treated & recovered  Typically they break the WEEE down into constituent materials (metals, plastics, glass etc)  WEEE materials then sent to recovery site (reprocessor) for recycling

19. Reprocessors  Receive WEEE materials arsing from treatment activities  Reprocessors are UK based and worldwide  All exports must pass through an approved exporter  All exports must comply with Waste Shipment Regulations

20. Costs  £2 Million in registration fees  Funds the regulator  Costs to finance the treatment of the WEEE  Commercial contracts between compliance schemes and treatment facilities  Costs not publicly available

21. Costs – Registration fees  No de-minimus – all producers must register  Business placing 1 EEE product on the market is deemed to be a producer  Tiered registration fees  £30below VAT threshold  £220VAT to £1M turnover  £445Above £1M turnover

22. WEEE Scope  Annex 1 and 2 provide examples of EEE, but we have had to deal with numerous queries  Produced guidance on what is in scope  Provide advice and guidance to industry

23. Where are we now?  System settling down  Seeing improving rates of collection  New collection systems being established  Still have leakage of WEEE from the system  Issues with illegal exports of WEEE – principally whole WEEE exported as used EEE