WEEE Directive

I come not to blame local authorities but to praise them. I am chasing up a couple of slow coaches, but 99 per cent. have already signed up, so I am encouraged by the local authority response. On design, we are already seeing signs in the United Kingdom that the producers of electrical and electronic goods are thinking hard about sustainability, and that they are recognising that the materials will be recycled. People are already incorporating such considerations into their designs. We need to consider the best approach, but the hon. Lady makes an important point. Between 60 and 70 per cent. of local authorities have finalised or are finalising arrangements for clearance of their sites by a scheme, and we expect all local authorities to have reached agreements with schemes in the next few months. Let me say something about reuse, which is related to sustainability. Some discarded appliances can be reused as whole appliances either here in the UK or possibly overseas. The WEEE regulations encourage such activity by allowing legitimate reuse to be included as evidence of producers discharging their obligations. That approach has been widely welcomed, and I am encouraged that many reuse organisations are building even stronger relationships with local authorities, their communities and producers to ensure that a piece of equipment that can be reused as whole is reused. In my borough of Croydon, I have seen that in action. There is an organisation that will take certain white goods, clean them up, repair them, make them fit for purpose and then sell them at reasonable cost, often to low-income groups. We need more schemes of that kind. The UK waste management and treatment industry also has a key role in ensuring that the WEEE that is collected is treated, recovered and recycled in accordance with the regulations. The sector is rising to the challenge with 230 approved authorised treatment facilities in place and a number of significant new investments totalling more than £15 million throughout the UK announced since the WEEE regulations were made. The investment includes plants in south Wales, Bedfordshire, Kent and Birmingham that will be capable of handling in excess of an additional 250,000 tonnes of WEEE material.