Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

1
Welcome
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Peter Brennan Managing Director
13 July 2005
1015369
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Key Dates

• 13th February 2003 WEEE Directive adopted
• 15th April 2005 Publication by D/EHLG of draft
  Regulations to implement Directive
• 1st July 2005 Commencement date of Regulations
• 6th July 2005 Publication of Regulations
• 20th July 2005 Deadline for producer
  registration
• 13th August 2005 WEEE Directive becomes fully
  operational e.g. public can deposit WEEE free of
  charge at civic amenity sites
• 1st July 2006 certain hazardous materials in
  WEEE cannot be placed on the market
• 31st December 2008 Deadline for 4kg of waste per
  person from private households collection target

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Presentation will cover..

• Aims of WEEE Directive
• Product coverage
• Key features
• Registration requirements
• Roles and responsibilities
• Logistical issues
• Costs
• Enforcement
• RoHS

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Aims of WEEE Directive

• Based on the premise of producer responsibility
  i.e. once EEE becomes waste
• Reduce WEEE disposal to landfill
• Provide for a free producer take-back scheme for
  consumers of end-of-life equipment
• Improve product design
• Improve environmental performance
• Achieve specific targets
• Provide for setting up of collection facilities
• Provide for financing by producers of systems for
  the recovery and treatment of WEEE
• EU wide obligations from 13 August 2005

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Categories of WEEE - Schedule 1

• Large household appliances
• Small household appliances
• IT and telecommunications equipment
• Consumer equipment
• Lighting equipment
• Electrical and electronic tools
• Toys, leisure and sports equipment
• Medical devices
• Monitoring and control instruments
• Automatic dispensers

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What is WEEE?

• .means electrical and electronic equipment,
  which is waste as defined in the 1975 EU
  Directive on waste, including all components,
  subassemblies and consumables which are part of
  the product at the time of discarding. i.e.
  equipment which needs electricity as its primary
  energy to fulfil its basic function

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Who is covered?

• Producers Any person who manufactures and sells
  WEEE (own brand) resells WEEE produced by other
  suppliers imports or exports WEEE distributes
  WEEE i.e. includes distance selling
• Distributor Any person who provides EEE on a
  commercial basis to a party who is going to use
  it i.e. retailer
• Retailer is a producer if he/she imports EEE
  direct otherwise considered as a distributor

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Key Features

• Producers and distributors must register
• Registration Body set up
• Mitigation if producer a member of an approved
  collective scheme
• Producers must finance disposal
• Covers historic WEEE i.e. waste put on the
  market prior to 13 August 2005
• Heavy penalties for breach of Regulations
• Success highly dependent on availability of
  recovery and treatment facility

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Registration Body

• By 20th July, producers of WEEE must be
  registered with Registration Body, the WEEE
  Register See Third Schedule for minimum
  requirements
• Run by independent committee of five
• Declan Burns, ex EPA, appointed Chairman
• WEEE Register has to apply to Minister for
  approval (Business Plan etc. required)
• Currently operating as non-statutory body
• Distributors must register all premises with
  local authority who will maintain registry
• WEEE Register also responsible for determination
  of the proportion of market share held by each
  individual producer and verification of
  financial guarantee

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Producers Obliged To..

• Have a Certificate of Registration from WEEE
  Registry
• Declare to WEEE Registry volume and types of
  units placed on the market in 2004
• Finance the collection, treatment and
  environmentally sound management of WEEE,
  including historic WEEE (in proportion to their
  current market share)
• Provide a financial guarantee for products
  intended for private household use
• Have a WEEE Management Plan
• Provide information to recovery facilities, to
  users of EEE (including bin symbol) and tthe
  WEEE Register

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Mitigation Available to Producers Provided

• Producer/distributor is a member of industry-led
  collective scheme approved by Minister
• WEEE Ireland and ERP seeking approval, by end
  July, under terms of Regulations modelled on
  Repak
• No need for members to provide bond or WEEE
  Management Plan
• Collectives (and not individual producers) will
  meet financing costs, look after collection of
  WEEE and its treatment, assure verification, and
  the provision of records
• Producers will meet collectives costs
• Collectives will apportion costs of historic WEEE

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Distributors Obliged To

• Have all premises registered
• Not to distribute EEE from non-compliant producer
• Take back at least free of charge non-damaged
  household WEEE on a one-for-one basis i.e.
  replacing the equipment of similar type or
  fulfilling the sale function
• Customers will have 15 days to return a
  corresponding piece of obsolete equipment
• If delivering large appliances, required to
  take-back equipment immediately (if cleaned,
  disconnected). Customer has 30 days to return to
  retailer
• Local authorities will only accept WEEE from
  registered retailers at civic amenity sites free
  of charge

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Logistical Issues

• Collection from permitted and authorised sites
  only
• Retailers can provide WEEE storage at retail
  outlets (once permitted above certain volumes
  e.g. 90 M2 of household WEEE), or make
  arrangement with local authority for free of
  charge disposal
• Producers fund recovery of WEEE from CA sites
• Alternative collection methods envisaged
• Business opportunity for sub-contractors
• WEEE Ireland will collect economic quantities
  from collection points
• Sorting into 5 categories envisaged

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Enforcement

• Waste Management Acts apply
• Not illegal to dispose of WEEE in skip
• Producer not registered shall be prohibited from
  placing EEE on the market
• Notices have to be displayed
• Cannot offer discounts to avoid take back
  responsibilities
• Registration Body not responsible for enforcement
• Office of Environmental Enforcement

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Penalties

• Maximum penalties under the Waste
• Management Acts - A real and proportionate
  deterrent - are
• A fine not exceeding 15 million, or
• Imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years,
  or
• Both

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RoHS

• Purpose is to minimise waste arisings of certain
  hazardous substances by restricting the use of
  certain hazardous materials, including heavy
  metals in WEEE
• New EEE put on market by a producer after 1 July
  2006, or sold by a retailer cannot, other than
  permitted trace levels, contain lead, mercury,
  hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls
  (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE)
• Covers fluorescent lamps, cathode ray tubes, lead
  in electronic compenents, some anti-corrosion
  agents
• EPA will enforce

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Costs

• Environmental Management Costs will result in a
  visible fee and this must be displayed
• Additional administative burden on manufacturing
  companies, distributors, retailers and distance
  sellers
• Cost of collection and treatment estimated
  between 10m to 14m i.e. around 318 p/tonne (on
  basis of arisings of 44,000 tonnes pa)
• However, current gate fee of 350 p/tonne

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Other Issues

• Treatment facilities will have to be licensed
• Rules for storage of WEEE prior to its treatment
• Producers/distributors have obligation to inform
  customers of their rights e.g. how they can
  return WEEE to explain wheeled bin symbol (which
  must appear on all EEE) and the impact of
  hazardous substances
• Covers non-EU imports

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Conclusions

• Other Member States (8) delayed implementation
• Irelands environmental record poor so action
  taken
• Massive logistical issues
• Lead in time too short
• Penalties very high
• Free rider problem
• Too few civic amenity sites (1,000 in Sweden)
• Company Directors should be aware of their
  responsibilities from 13 August
• Sooner recovery and treatment plant in place the
  better

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Contacts

• D/EHLG www.environ.ie
• EPA www.epa.ie
• ALGC www.algoodbody.ie/consulting
• European Commission http//europa.eu.int/comm/env
  ironment/waste/weee_index.htm
• Sharonne O' Reilly,
• Waste Prevention Recovery Section,
• Environment Infrastructure Services Division,
• Department of the Environment, Heritage Local
  Government,
• Custom House
• Dublin 1.
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• E-mail weeetaskforce_at_environ.ie

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WEEE

• QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS