Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

This article covers the WEEE Directive, what it means to businesses in the UK or being supplied by the UK and how Ranmor can help your business comply with the relevant legislation.

What is WEEE?

WEEE is Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The WEEE Directive is a European Parliament Directive designed to:

• Reduce the wasteful consumption of natural resources
• Prevent pollution from the hazardous components of electrical and electronic equipment.
• Encourage reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of such wastes so as to reduce the disposal of waste
• Encourage development of new recovery, recycling and treatment technologies.
• Make producers responsible for their products from manufacture through to final recycling or recovery

In the UK it is estimated that up to 100,000 businesses (25,000 Producers and 75,000 Retailers) will be affected by the legislation.
Under the directive, EU states have to meet targets for the rate of recovery, and for component, material and substance reuse and recycling of items in each of these categories.

They must also ensure compliance with the directive through establishment of a monitoring system.

Next: What does this mean to my business?