WEEE Regulations
The WEEE Regulations become law throughout the UK on 2nd January 2007. Since this time, a number of requirements were placed on businesses involved in the manufacturing, import or re-branding of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). These companies are classed as producers under the WEEE Regulations. Producers of such waste are required under the WEEE Regulations to meet targets for the re-use, recovery and recycling of waste electrical goods.
However, it is not just producers that are required to adhere to the WEEE Regulations. Any business that produces electrical or electronic waste must comply with the Regulations, regardess of the amount of electrical waste that is produced. Therefore, if you run a small printing company that needs to dispose of some old IT and printing equipment, providing the equipment itself falls within the classification of WEEE below, it will have to be dealt with in accordance with the Regulations. Failure to comply with the WEEE Regulations can result in prosecution.
Under the WEEE Regulations there are 10 classifications of waste electrical and electronic equipment. These classifications are as follows (for further information on the different classification of WEEE, click on the relevant link below)
- Large household appliances
- Small household appliances
- IT and telecommunications equipment
- Consumer equipment
- Lighting equipment
- Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary industrial tools)
- Toys, leisure and sports equipment
- Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products)
- Monitoring and control instruments
- Automatic dispensers