Recycling means processing used materials in order to create new materials or products. Gas Discharge Lamps in the UK were designated as Hazardous Waste on 16th July 2005, conferring a Duty of Care on Business end users (or their subcontractors) when the Waste is produced. End User pre-treatment before collection by a Recycler, such as on-site crushing, is not Recycling as such rather it is a method of beginning the Recycling process. From the implementation of the WEEE Regulations, which took place July 1st 2007, this Waste must only be treated, after this date, through bona fide recycling and recovery operations. Recolight has contracted with several competent and qualified Recycling companies to meet these requirements on behalf of its Members.

Recolight's Contractors: In order for Logistics or Lamp Recycling service providers to become contractors to Recolight, they must be able to demonstrate full compliance with all regulatory and licensing requirements that may exist. Lamp Recyclers must be able to operate as an Approved Authorised Treatment Facility (AATF) so that evidence notes may be issued to Recolight.

What Recolight Will Do

Following the implementation of the WEEE Regulations on July 1st 2007, Recolight (on behalf of its Producer members) became responsible for ensuring there is an infrastructure for the collection of WEEE lamps and to finance the costs of efficient, reliable and environmentally sound solutions for Lamp recycling. It will therefore continue to source these services to achieve this from Recycling and Logistics Operators who can demonstrate that they conform to the relevant statutory requirements of the Regulations and Standards.

Recolight specifies in its purchasing and tendering process the criteria to which potential Operators will have to conform. Recolight seeks Operators with the highest quality standard and certification to the relevant parts of ISO 14001 will assist the selection process.

Recolight will carry out regular audits with appointed Operators, which will be comprehensive and comply with the requirements of the UK WEEE Regulations and any other regulations set out by relevant parties such as DEFRA or The Environment Agency. This will ensure that the highest standards of recycling and practices are adhered to.

Recolight will finance the costs of collection and recycling from Designated Collection Facilities - (DCFs) and Commercial Collection Points - (CCPs) as required by the Regulations and will charge those costs to its members via an equitable formula.

NB: Where End Users require additional or customised services which go beyond the standard service that Recolight has developed (e.g collection of low volumes from their premises; non-standard containers; timed pick-ups etc) then the system is flexible enough to deal with that but the costs related to such services would be negotiated and dealt with directly between Recycling service providers and the End User.

Application of Regulation 9.2 to Lamps supplied to End Users

A summary:

• Regulation 9.2 allows producers to transfer their obligations under the WEEE regulations to end users which are businesses.
• By accepting such an arrangement, the end user takes full responsibility for financing all the costs of the collection, treatment , recovery, and environmentally sound disposal of lamps.
• Both the producer and end user must agree to the arrangement, and must hold documented and auditable proof that such an agreement has been reached.
• Recolight’s position: The fragmented and diverse nature of lamp distribution, the lack of certainty of final end user, and the inability to trace the route to market of any lamp once installed means that the use of Regulation 9.2 is not recommended for the lamp industry.

The detailed reasoning for Recolight’s position is given below:

The legislation

Regulation 9.1 specifies the requirements for producers to fund the recycling of waste arising from users which are not private households.  It explains application to both historic waste (put on the market before 13th August 2005) and “new” waste (put on the market after 13th August 2005)

*Regulation 9.2 then states:
“Nothing in paragraph (1) [summarised above] shall prevent a producer from concluding an agreement whereby the parties to the agreement make alternative arrangements between themselves to finance the costs of the collection, treatment, recovery, and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE”

Points to note concerning the legislation

1.    Such arrangements can only apply to end users which are not private households.  If any products supplied in a transaction are likely to be ultimately supplied to households, then regulation 9.2 cannot be used to comply.
2.    The guidance document published by Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS – formerly BERR) makes it clear that any regulation 9.2 arrangements must be clearly documented by both parties.
3.    In their recent documentation inviting Producer Compliance Schemes to reapply for accreditation under the WEEE regulations, the Environment Agency has asked any schemes using regulation 9.2 to give detailed explanations of the arrangements they have put in place for collection, treatment, recovery, and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE.

Issues arising for the lamp industry

1.    At the point that most lamps are sold, in many cases it is not known whether they will end up in household or non-household applications.
2.    Virtually all sales of lamps go through a multi-layer supply chain to the end-user and therefore there cannot be an effective contract arrangement between the end-user and the producer at end of life 6 years or more later.
3.    If an attempt is made to apply regulation 9.2 to just one part of the supply chain (for example to one intermediary, such as a wholesaler or distance seller) there is no practical way of communicating this information in a long term manner to the end user.  Lamps have a typical lifetime of 6 years, and the brand stated on the lamp will be assumed to be the responsible party, in spite of any intermediary agreements that might be in place.
4.    The ownership of lamps can also be subject to frequent change during their lifetime, as the building within which they are installed changes ownership.  Again, this means that there is no effective way of ensuring the end user (after 6 years) is aware of any agreements that might have been put in place at the time of sale.  The brand stated on the lamp will be assumed to be the responsible party, in spite of any other agreements that might be in place.
5.    It is also clear that many customers will resist taking full responsibility for financing the costs of collection, treatment, recovery, and environmentally sound disposal of lamps.