Free Of Charge Waste Lamp Recycling

Changes to the way the Government sets WEEE targets means that most companies should now be able to access free waste lamp recycling.

At the end of March, the Government announced the UK lamp recycling target.  This is the tonnage of waste lamps that must be funded by all LED and fluorescent lamp producers, through their WEEE Producer Compliance Schemes (PCSs).

The 2016 target is 6882 tonnes – much higher than the 2015 target, which was just 2680 tonnes.  6882 tonnes has been chosen because it is very close to the total tonnage that the Government forecast will be collected and recycled in the UK this year.

This means WEEE PCSs will need to purchase certificates of recycling (known as evidence notes) adding up to 6882 tonnes, as a way of complying with the WEEE regulations.

As a consequence, virtually all companies which hold waste lamps should be able to get those lamps recycled for free.

This is great news for end users, contractors, facilities managers, and any other companies which need to dispose of waste lamps.   This change is particularly important, given that the large scale roll-out of LED luminaires is resulting in material tonnages of waste lamps this year.

Recolight is the UK’s largest lighting WEEE PCS.  Where Recolight has the capacity, Recolight may be able to make their own free service available to companies that meet their eligibility criteria.