The WEN Regulations

Summary

In 2007 The Government introduced The Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. The aim of which is to measure the quantity of household WEEE that is reused or recovered and to increase the percentage of that WEEE that is either recovered or recycled. Europe has designated 10 categories of WEEE that need to be recovered.

The UK has subdivided this into a total of 13 categories which need to be recovered and recycled at the following levels:

Minimum rates (%)

Categories

Reuse

Recovery

Recycling

CAT 1

Large household appliances

100

80

75

CAT 2

Small household appliances

100

70

50

CAT 3

IT & telecommunications equipment

100

75

65

CAT 4

Consumer equipment

100

75

65

CAT 5

Lighting equipment

100

70

50

CAT 6

Electrical & electric tools

100

70

50

CAT 7

Toys, leisure & sports equipment

100

70

50

CAT 8

Medical devices

100

n/a

n/a

CAT 9

Monitoring & control instruments

100

75

65

CAT 10

Automatic dispensers

100

80

75

CAT 11

TVs & monitors

100

75

65

CAT 12

Fridges & cooling equipment

100

80

75

CAT 13

Gas discharge lamp

100

80

80

The WEN System

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) was introduced into UK law in January 2007 by the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Regulations 2006.

The WEEE Directive aims to reduce the amount of electrical and electronic equipment being produced and to encourage everyone to reuse, recycle and recover it.

The WEEE Directive also aims to improve the environmental performance of businesses that manufacture, supply, use, recycle and recover electrical and electronic equipment.

If you are an importer, rebrander or manufacturer of new electrical or electronic equipment, then it's likely that you'll need to comply with the UK's WEEE Regulations, which in part implement the WEEE Directive. If you do need to comply, then you must register on a producer compliance scheme.

You may also have obligations under the WEEE Regulations if you are a business with electrical or electronic equipment to dispose of, or if you sell electrical or electronic equipment.

More Information

For more information on the WEEE Directive and how it might affect you, a good place to visit is the Environment Agency website:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/waste/32088.aspx