After multiple false starts, as of July 1st, the new Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations will ensure that major producers, rebranders and importers of household electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) are signed up to pay for the responsible disposal and recycling of their goods.
Alarmingly, electrical waste is now growing at around three times the rate of general waste. The aim of the regulations is to encourage greater recycling, recovery and reuse, and ultimately divert more used goods away from landfill.
Producers who have already registered with compliance schemes, collectively put a staggering 1.4 million tonnes of household electrical items on the market last year.
The public will also be encouraged to take more responsibility for recycling and reuse of electronic goods.
Options will be to take such goods as toasters, kettles etc to a retailer as part of new take-back schemes, or use a local recycling facility.
Electrical retailer Currys is to launch an in-store recycling scheme for unwanted products, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.
The retailer will offer customers free product return via its network of 500 stores as well as home delivery. Under the specifications of the WEEE Directive old models can be returned, regardless of where they were bought from.
Currys has agreements in place with a network of recycling contractors to ensure safe, WEEE compliant disposal of all its collected goods.
Mind you, this is no real surprise as their parent company, DSG International, is heavily committed to the environment.
In the same family is Dixon's who are calling for suppliers to end the standby button on electrical goods in an attempt to reduce the energy usage of its products.
Directive Decoder
See also: Electronics Weekly's WEEE Directive In Full Force, a roundup of content related to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment regulations.
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