In this issue:

A message from Eddie Taylor, Recolight CEO
Welcome to Recolight's 3rd e-newsletter. By joining our compliance scheme you are not only adhering to government legislation, but also contributing to a major recycling project with lasting environmental benefits... [VIEW MORE]

Know your regulations
This month's subject is 'alternative arrangements' in respect of business-to-business (B2B) waste... [VIEW MORE]

Facts at your fingertips
Recolight is the nation's leading lamp compliance scheme, with a robust, growing UK-wide recycling infrastructure.  Here are some facts and figures about progress and the support that is available... [VIEW MORE]

The LampCo Collection Point
One of Recolight's first producer members, the LampCo is a leading lamp supplier, importing specialist lamp types including medical sources, from all over the world... [VIEW MORE]

Come and See Us
We will be exhibiting at the following trade show... [VIEW MORE]

Stop Press
Recolight continues to use the trade media to promote its message. Visit the Recolight website, or pick up the following... [VIEW MORE]

Eddie Taylor, Chief Executive, Recolight

This month's subject is 'alternative arrangements' in respect of business-to-business (B2B) waste.

Background

Under the WEEE regulations, producers of electrical and electronic equipment are legally obliged to finance the safe disposal, reuse and/or recycling of their products when they reach end-of-life and become WEEE (WEEE = waste electrical and electronic equipment). These regulations require a producer to join a compliance scheme, such as Recolight, to meet this obligation or to provide their own compliance scheme. In this latter case producers may put ‘alternative arrangements' in place (under WEEE Regulation 36) which should include systems for taking back such WEEE products. For B2B waste this can be done either by collecting WEEE products directly from the end user site, or providing a collection network into which the end user can deliver its WEEE products, or some mix of the two.

If a producer elects to meet his obligations in this way, "alternative arrangements” should include that:

• A formal, auditable contract is established between the producer and end user in which the user clearly takes over the end-of-life recycling obligation
  
• The user must ensure that the WEEE is disposed of in accordance with the Regulations
  
• Both producer and end user must ensure that a process has been put in place such that not only the recycling of the products has been achieved in line with the regulations, but that the evidence passed to the producer's compliance scheme
  

For high value capital equipment which might have a value at the end-of-life, alternative arrangements are a practical solution, but much less so for relatively short-lived consumable items.

Some Guidance for distributors (and supply chain participants)

• Distributors/contractors do not take over any of the producer's legal obligations for disposing of end users' WEEE simply because they buy and redistribute them
• Distributors who provide a service for the disposal of a user's WEEE do not per-se assume the original producer's obligations but they can make arrangements with schemes such as Recolight for the WEEE to be uplifted and recycled at the scheme's cost
• It is a good practice for distributors and end users to buy from WEEE registered producers that are subscribed to a compliance scheme

Recolight has a dedicated team of specialists who are on hand to provide advice and information to help ensure the safe and efficient disposal of lamps. You can visit us @ www.recolight.co.uk where you will find a comprehensive source of information on the whole disposal and recycling process. Alternatively you can call the Recolight Helpline on 08456 017749.

Recolight is the nation's leading lamp producer compliance scheme, with a robust, growing UK-wide recycling infrastructure. Here are some facts and figures about progress and the support that is available:

• Recolight now has nearly 900 Commercial Collection Points (CCPs) across the UK, to aid the efficient recycling of end-of-life gas discharge lamps. Of these, 210 are open CCPs where business end users can dispose of their lamps in compliance with WEEE regulations
  
• Recolight made an estimated 5,200 container collections in Q1 2008, that's a quarter on quarter increase of around 25% since Q4 2007
  
• Recolight's website is receiving just under 3000 visits per week, half of them visiting our FAQ's section
  
• A team of professionals with many years of experience in the lighting industry form the backbone of Recolight. They are on hand to guide producers through WEEE compliance issues
  
• To find the nearest collection point to you, or for advice and guidance, visit our website www.recolight.co.uk  or call us on 0845 601 7749. To see a map of CCPs across the UK, you can go into the website's Open Collection Search Tool

We will be exhibiting at the following trade show:

• CIWM exhibition and show, in association with the Journal of Waste Management on the 10th – 12th June, Paignton, Torbay
• We will also be speaking at the EuroLED show on the 4th – 5th June at the Ricoh Arena, West Midlands

Recolight has nearly 900 Commercial Collection Points across the nation. To find the nearest collection point to you click here  or call us on 0845 601 7749.