Reuse of WEEE

The WEEE Directive encourages the reuse of both whole appliances and their components, however it is expected that community and commercial operations will need licensing or exemption through the Environment Agency.

Netregs, which provide advice from the Environment Agency, has been updated for the recycling sector.

There is opportunity for social enterprises to become 'collection points' for WEEE - see the National Clearing House Dicussion Paper on the consultation page.

Component reuse

The reuse of components counts toward the recycling rates that need to be met by the producers. This is important as there is a possible route (through the proposed clearing house system) for claiming payment from producers for discharging some of their responsibility.

As the reuse of components will count toward the UK recycling rate and the targets of 4kg per head of population, this will have to be carefully recorded. The WEEE Directive is concerned with percentage by weight, so it is assumed that this is one of the features that will have to be noted.

Whole Appliances

The requirement is that priority should be given to the reuse of whole appliances, yet no target has been set and the reuse of whole units does not count toward producer targets. There is an indication that the government will only require consideration of reuse of the larger and more expensive products.

How whole appliance reuse can be measured accurately we cannot suggest, as there is a fine definition as to when 'waste' is waste (see link to EA advice)! However, there may be a future requirement for those involved in reuse to record the origin and destination of appliances passing through.

We hope that Local Authorities and retailers will recognise the skills of the community sector in assessment and refurbishment, and encourage collection through their local groups.

See the links to reuse organisations in the UK.

Handling for reuse

The government seems keen to implement protocols that will ensure that unwanted goods are not damaged before their assessment for reuse, impacting on the way that goods are collected. They are looking for suggestions through the consultation process; responses so far feel that retailer take back and designated local authority areas would lead to the least damage.

IT reuse

The reuse of computer equipment is one of the most common commercial operations as there can be profit in upgrading and reselling of IT goods. See the reports in the links to the right for a word of caution on health and safety issues from the American SVTC and from the OECD.

2nd proposal

Below is the text from the 2nd proposal:

• The Government sees a role for charity or social organisations refurbishing equipment for reuse in helping us to meet the WEEE Directive’s requirement to encourage reuse of whole equipment where possible
• The Government encourages these organisations to work with local
  authorities, producers or retailers where opportunities arise to re-use
  electrical and electronic equipment
• The Government will require organisations undertaking refurbishment work to be able to report upon the levels of re-use achieved
• The Government will require all organisations undertaking refurbishment work to hold the appropriate treatment permits or exemptions
• The Government will require all refurbishment organisations to ensure that products they handle which that are not reusable are passed on to anauthorised WEEE treatment facility (if they are not licensed for this activity themselves)
• The Government will require all producers to make available to
  refurbishers relevant product information to help them to refurbish

The important point to note from the above is that reuse organisations may not be able to give any wastage from their operations back to a CA site, and could have to arrange delivery to a treatment facility.

Current reuse regulations

Current advice from the EA for reuse and refurbishment projects can be found in the links box at the top of the right-hand column on this page. This advice will change before the WEEE Directive is implemented in August, as the EA is currently reviewing its permitting procedures.

Export of goods for reuse

Under international law, you cannot ship waste outside of OECD countries. The Environment Agency considers that second-hand electrical goods are waste, because they have been discarded by the end user.

Therefore, only appliances in working order (so brought out of the waste stream) can be shipped for reuse. The Environment Agency is expected to produce further guidance on this subject soon.

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