What are the WEEE Regulations?

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations (S.I. 2006:3289) and the WEEE (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 3454) stem from an EU Directive of the same name and that Directive has now been rolled out across all EU countries. It came into full legal effect in the UK in July 2007

The WEEE Regulations ensure electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is recycled in a sustainable way when it reaches end of life. The legislation is in place to reduce the impact electrical waste has on the environment by encouraging its reuse or recycling, and obliges manufacturers to fund the collection and recycling of their products when they reach end of life.

The regulations require all producers to join a compliance scheme which manages the process on their behalf, and schemes such as Recolight - which works on behalf of the lighting industry - provide these services free of charge to the end user. Under the Regulations the producer funds the collection, recycling and any environmentally friendly disposal. But it is the end user that has ultimate responsibility for making sure the product is recycled when it reaches end of life.