DTI officially confirms new delay in WEEE Regulations
DTI have announced further delays in the implementation of the WEEE Regulations following a special meeting at the DTI. Here it was decided that current proposals were unacceptable for new regulations bringing in the WEEE Directive, which will require manufacturers to pay for collecting and recycling waste electronics.
Although the DTI has not provided any firm dates for the length of this latest delay, the Department did officially confirm details that there is to be a fresh consultation in the Spring on how the UK will adopt the Directive.
The WEEE Directive will require producers to pay for treatment and recycling or recovery of all household WEEE products collected from designated collection points, as well as all business WEEE. Retailers will have an obligation to offer take-back services to householders and will be providing a network of collection facilities where consumers can take back their WEEE for it to be collected separately from other municipal waste.
The Directive was supposed to have come into force in the UK in August 13, 2005, but the UK government has had trouble finalising a set of regulations that business is happy with.
Its decision to delay the regulations once again will have been flavoured by the multi-million pound costs involved in helping local authorities to deal with WEEE under the hazardous waste regulations. These regulations came into force when the WEEE regulations were originally supposed to be in place, but the delay to the WEEE regulations means councils pick up the costs of dealing with WEEE rather than producers.
The DTI said today that it would continue to work with local Authorities to establish the costs associated with the decision to undertake this review.
Additional regulations on the permitting of WEEE recycling facilities are to be made by DEFRA, but the DTI said they would come into force alongside the producer responsibility requirements of the DTI WEEE regulations.
The decision to delay the WEEE regulations is being supported by the Environment Agency.
Source: www.defra.gov.uk (accessed 06/01/06)
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