WEEE Directive

The regulations place obligations on all producers of electrical and electronic equipment to finance the costs of collection and the waste management of the products that they place on the UK market. All responsible businesses have welcomed the aims of the WEEE regulations, as they are keen to limit the environmental impact of their products when they reach the end of their lives. Under the UK system, all producers are required to join an approved producer compliance scheme that best meets their needs. The environment agencies have now approved 37 such schemes. Collectively, more than 3,300 producers have registered so far. I recognise, however, that there will be businesses that have not yet joined the WEEE system, despite the efforts of Government and business representative organisations. We will therefore continue our ongoing efforts to raise awareness of the regulations; for example, a further series of UK-wide roadshow events are planned for September—if Members have not yet booked their holiday, that is worth bearing in mind—and the Environment Agency will shortly be commencing a telephone campaign to alert companies that may have obligations. Let me say something about retailers and distributors. Although the bulk of the obligations rests with producers of electrical and electronic equipment, the distributors of such equipment also have obligations. When a replacement item of electrical or electronic gear is purchased, distributors must provide facilities for consumers to return equipment that has reached the end of its life. That can be done in one of two ways. They can offer services to take back the equipment at their premises—I believe that the Dixons is doing that—or, more typically, as it is turning out, they can join the distributor take-back scheme, which will help them discharge their obligations. So far, 2,550 distributors have joined the scheme, and, as a result, £10 million will be provided to local authorities for the use of their sites and to finance any upgrading, signage and so on that may be needed. Let me say something about the role of local authorities. The WEEE regulations place no direct obligation on local authorities. Some media reports have claimed that local authorities will incur a financial burden as a result of the regulations, but that will not be the case if they become part of the WEEE system by applying for their sites to be designated collection facilities, whereby they can arrange for a producer compliance scheme to provide the necessary containers to collect WEEE and to clear WEEE from their sites for free. Local authorities may count the recycling of such waste deposited at their sites towards their recycling targets and, by reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill, they will be able to reduce their waste disposal costs. To date, 99 per cent. of local authorities have applied to participate in the system. All but two sites have so far been approved.