Related links:

WEEE Directive (EU) WEEE Regulations (UK) BERR: WEEE guidance DCF Code of Practice Treatment Guidance EU guidance on WEEE Recycling contacts Producer compliance schemes WEEE Settlement Centre

The UK generates about 1.9 million tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) each year from domestic and commercial sources.

Under the WEEE Regulations, brought in on July 1, 2007, producers of electrical appliances - both manufacturers and importers - are responsible for collecting and recycling waste electronics from both households and businesses.

Complying with Europe's WEEE Directive (2003), the regulations make producers pay producer compliance schemes to arrange for collections of WEEE from designated collection facilities (DCFs), and for collected items to be recycled at approved authorised treatment facilities (AATFs).

Many of these DCFs are run by local authorities, and may take the form of household waste recycling centres, civic amenity sites or waste transfer stations. Householders can take their old electrical goods to the sites, where they are gathered for onward transportation by a compliance scheme or partner firm to be recycled.

Both collection and recycling facilities issue the producer compliance schemes with evidence to show that received goods have been recycled to meet both EU recycling targets and environmental protection conditions. A "Settlement Centre" has been set up to co-ordinate the flow of this WEEE recycling evidence.

UK already exceeds the Directive's first household WEEE collection target of 4kg of equipment per head per year. However, this relies heavily on computer equipment and also fridges picked up under Ozone Depleting Substances regulations. It is not yet clear how the UK is doing in all 10 categories of electronics covered by the Directive, or on business WEEE which must all be collected for recovery.

News - Quick links:
2006	2005	2004
2003	2002	2001

To follow the progression of WEEE recycling in the UK, as reported by letsrecycle.com, click on the dates below:

March 2008: Waste firm Viridor has acquired the Scottish WEEE recycling company Shore Recycling for £23 million.

March 2008: Logistics firm Wincanton is to establish a second plant to recycle WEEE, in Daventry, Northamptonshire.

March 2008: Work has begun on an £8 million WEEE recycling "super plant" at the Sims Group site in Newport, South Wales.

March 2008: Environcom is hoping to develop a WEEE recycling plant in Grantham  to replace the facility destroyed by fire last September.

March 2008: A Cornish WEEE recycling company is to expand nationwide with plans for three new processing facilities.

March 2008: Compliance schemes Electrolink and REPIC have finally reached agreement on the trading of WEEE recycling evidence.
 

March 2008: Draft data, July-December 2007  New figures on WEEE collections suggest household  appliances were collected at a rate of 5.2kg per person  per year in the UK from July to December 2007.

March 2008: The Environment Exchange is to offer a platform for the trading of WEEE recycling evidence under the WEEE Regulations.

February 2008: Produced compliance schemes Electrolink and REPIC are now in "constructive dialogue" with a view to the trading of recycling evidence.

February 2008: A simplified evidence notes system for metals generated by the recycling of WEEE to be exported for use overseas is to be implemented for 2007 and 2008.

February 2008: WEEE producer compliance schemes can now trade and record recycling evidence they have acquired, under the latest phase of the Settlement Centre.

February 2008: Producer scheme Electrolink and its partners are to call on minister Joan Ruddock to intervene in the current "Mexican stand-off" over collection costs.

February 2008: Businesses that take in old household electrical goods are being offered somewhere to recycle the equipment by compliance scheme Valpak.

January 2008: Shore Recycling has acquired another WEEE recycling company, M Baker Recycling, which has a CRT and fridge plant in St Helens.

January 2008: Producer compliance scheme Electrolink is meeting with government to discuss issues related to the funding of WEEE collections.

January 2008: Ministers have called on consumers to recycle their WEEE now that a collection network has been established across the UK.
 

December 2007: WEEE (Amendment) Regulations  The government has amended the WEEE Regulations to  tighten controls on re-use and improve accuracy of data  as well as other minor administrative details.

December 2007: Electronics retail giant DSGi has formed an alliance with the Furniture Re-use Network to boost the re-use of WEEE collected on delivery of new goods.

December 2007: The WEEE Settlement Centre - which co-ordinates recycling evidence for WEEE producer responsibility - has now gone live.
 

December 2007: WEEE Advisory Body  Ministers have appointed an independent group with  cross-sector expertise to advise government on the  progression of the WEEE system.

November 2007: The Environment Agency has published an updated list of approved producer compliance schemes - causing industry puzzlement over a new scheme.

November 2007: Almost all English waste disposal authorities are now finalising arrangements with a producer compliance scheme to take household waste electronic goods.

October 2007: Axion Recycling has invested £500,000 to develop pioneering separation techniques which remove plastics from small electrical items.
 

October 2007: The Settlement Centre  With collection systems progressing well, the next step for  the UK's implementation of the WEEE Directive is to finalise  arrangements for recycling evidence.

October 2007: WasteCare suggests the way to solve the REPIC-Electrolink debate over the transfer of recycling evidence might be to transfer members instead.

October 2007: Logistics firm DHL has warned that the economics of recycling hazardous WEEE "don't add up" because of government red tape.

October 2007: Producer compliance scheme Electrolink has set an October 31 price deadline on the sale of its surplus WEEE recycling evidence.

September 2007: REPIC has written to fellow WEEE producer compliance schemes to urge them to hand over any surplus recycling evidence.

September 2007: The Environment Agency said about 3,900 producers of electrical goods have now registered under this year's new recycling and disposal regulations.

September 2007: WEEE recycling firm Environcom is reviewing its future after fire destroyed its £2.1 million plant in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

August 2007: Viridor has reported "substantial amounts" of small domestic appliances being handed in to its local authority sites in July.

August 2007: Lamp producers have been ordered not to set additional charges on new fluorescent tubes to cover recycling costs under the WEEE Regulations.

July 2007: Producer compliance scheme ERP UK, has agreed WEEE collection deals with 55 local authorities across the country, it has revealed.

July 2007: Energy minister Malcolm Wicks has appointed a Scottish IT firm to run the Settlement Centre, which will co-ordinate WEEE recycling evidence.

July 2007: The government has outlined how treatment facilities and exporters will issue evidence of recycling for producers to meet their WEEE Regulation obligations.
 

July 2007: WEEE producer responsibility in force  After a long wait, the WEEE Directive has now been fully  implemented in the UK, with producers now responsible for  financing WEEE collection and recycling.

June 2007: Industry meets with government officials to discuss how recycling evidence will work, with WEEE producer responsibility starting in a few days.

June 2007: Retail giant Comet is launching an expanded recycling service for WEEE that will collect unwanted appliances from customers and non-customers alike.

June 2007: Compliance scheme Electrolink is seeking to collect WEEE from as many council sites as possible under the WEEE Regulations.

June 2007: A £1.5 million new television and computer monitor glass recycling plant looks set to open in North Wales in October.

June 2007: The Environment Agency has released data on which producer compliance schemes hold the largest share of the business WEEE compliance market in the UK.

June 2007: The new CIWM president has expressed concerns about the export of re-usable WEEE.

June 2007: Compliance scheme Recycle 1st has called for co-operation in the trading of WEEE recycling evidence.

June 2007: Compliance scheme REPIC has issued a warning to councils about signing up to small producer compliance schemes.

June 2007: The Environment Agency has claimed that all "major" electronics producers are now signed up to the WEEE Regulations.
 

May 2007: Household market shares  In this report, letsrecycle.com examines data issued under  the Freedom of Information Act on the market shares of  the major WEEE producer compliance schemes.

May 2007: One of the largest electronics recyclers in the North East has said more needs to be done to inform business users about the new WEEE recycling regulations.

May 2007: Up to 90% of local authorities are expected to register as collection points for WEEE but fears have been voiced by some councils they could be out of pocket.

May 2007: An Agency that supervises tractors will be checking up on retailers and civic amenity sites to make sure the WEEE Directive is being implemented properly.

May 2007: A Birmingham-based IT supplier has invested £5m in new electronics recycling services, in anticipation of the start of producer responsibility for WEEE. 

May 2007: Protocols to simplify the data required to show compliance with treatment and recycling obligations under the WEEE Regulations have been published.

April 2007: Councils have been warned not to damage their chances of hitting landfill targets for biodegradable waste when signing up sites to collect WEEE.

April 2007: Sites can now be registered as official collection points for WEEE under the UK's new producer responsibility system.

April 2007: Two of the larger WEEE producer compliance schemes are in active talks with councils over securing civic amenity sites as collection points.

April 2007: Electrical retail giants Dixons and Currys are to meet their WEEE requirements through an in-store take-back service rather than signing up to the scheme covering civic amenity sites.

March 2007: More than 3,000 manufacturers, importers and re-branders of electrical goods have registered to do their part to reduce the amount of waste electronics going to landfill.

March 2007: The DTI has confirmed there will be no "partial producer responsibility" for WEEE between April 1 and July 1, and reported on progress of the retailers' scheme, the DTS.

March 2007: The deadline has passed for electronics producers to sign up to a producer compliance scheme to comply with the WEEE Regulations.

March 2007: Waste firm Viridor has agreed a partnership with WEEE producer compliance scheme Electrolink for the collection of equipment in West Sussex.

March 2007: Compliance schemes who will collect WEEE from July 1 have been unable to agree an Allocation Centre to co-ordinate contracts with DCFs.

March 2007: Retailers who will be putting millions into the provision of WEEE collection facilities at DCFs are still to sign up to the national retailers' WEEE scheme.

March 2007: The UK is criticised by major electronics manufacturers and green activists, for the way in which the WEEE Directive has been brought into force.

March 2007: Furniture refurbishers welcome government's priority on re-using waste electrical and electronic equipment within new guidance on WEEE Regulations.

March 2007: Manufacturers, importers and rebranders of electronic goods are being urged to sign up with an approved compliance scheme in the next two weeks.
 

February 2007: Guidance on WEEE Regulations  The DTI has published guidance detailing the roles and  responsibilities of those involved with waste electrical  and electronic equipment.

February 2007:  Councils are asking what benefit they will see in signing up civic amenity sites as designated collection facilities (DCFs) for WEEE.

February 2007: The first steps to setting up an allocation centre for civic amenity sites which handle WEEE have been announced by an industry forum.

February 2007: Some of the major compliance schemes that will help electronics producers deal with the new WEEE Regulations have been approved.

February 2007: Councils have been advised not to rush into signing up their CA sites with producer compliance schemes for WEEE.

February 2007: Defra has allowed a Lincolnshire company to use its mobile lamp crusher at customers' own sites under exemption to the hazardous waste regulations.

February 2007: Electronic producers are being reminded that they will have to join a compliance scheme to comply with new recycling regulations.

January 2007: New waste electronics regulations at both a UK and EU level are too weak to encourage producers to design out waste, Sony has said.

January 2007: "Businesses and other non-household users of EEE" look likely to only have limited responsibilities imposed on them under the regulations.

January 2007: LARAC warned councils not to sign up to WEEE producer compliance schemes before the system has been properly thrashed out.

January 2007: Proper enforcement is "vital" for WEEE producer responsibility to work, a plastics recycling company has warned.

December 2006: WEEE licensing regulations  New WEEE waste management licensing regulations  have been laid before Parliament by Defra, coming  into force on January 5, 2007.

December 2006: Sims Group is building a new £8m processing plant in South Wales for the dismantling of waste electrical and electronic equipment.

December 2006: Business leaders have called on the government to begin a major awareness campaign to inform UK companies about the new WEEE regulations.

December 2006: Malcolm Wicks has insisted new WEEE regulations are true "producer responsibility, rather than a "customer responsibility".
 

December 2006: WEEE Regulations published  Science minister Malcolm Wicks has laid new waste  electrical and electronic equipment legislation before  Parliament.

November 2006: New categories for waste electronics - including a separate one for fridges - will be included in the regulations to implement the WEEE Directive in the UK.

November 2006: Irish firm Greenstar has moved into the WEEE compliance market in the UK through its Recycle 1st scheme.

November 2006: Defra issued a plea to local authority recycling officers to register their civic amenity sites as Designated Collection Facilities (DCFs).

November 2006: US-owned consultancy Environ is preparing to launch a business-to-business WEEE compliance scheme.
 

November 2006: Evidence system rethink  The DTI has signalled that it will be altering the proposed  evidence system for the recycling of waste electronics.

November 2006: The electronics industry has expressed concerns over the government's intentions for retailers to meet their WEEE Directive obligations.
 

November 2006: Draft treatment guidance  Industry is looking over draft treatment guidance from Defra,  which suggests some hazardous components can be  put through a shredder before removal.

October 2006: Lamp recycling company Mercury Recycling has doubled the capacity at its Manchester plant, responding to high demand for its services.

October 2006: Sims Recycling Solutions will soon have an outlet for plastic from waste electronics, following the acquisition of German recycling specialist M+R.

October 2006: Sales of new electronic equipment are rocketing – which could affect how much waste equipment must be recycled under next year's new WEEE regulations.

October 2006: Sony UK has suggested that retailers could be forced to state how much of the price of new goods relates to recycling costs.

September 2006: Compliance scheme Valpak has agreed a partnership with logistics and recycling firm Wincanton ahead of new WEEE regulations.

September 2006: The DTI has urged stakeholders to get their consultation responses in soon so new regulations can be finalised by early December.

September 2006: The Environment Agency is investigating allegations concerning imports of Irish waste electronics intercepted at Holyhead Port.

September 2006: An electronics reprocessing firm has warned of lobbying groups it claims are trying to weaken plans for the enforcement of new WEEE regulations.

September 2006: Producers of large electronic goods are embarking on a final push to convince the DTI that the cost of recycling electronic waste placed on the market before August 2005 should be shown in stores.

September 2006: Veolia Environmental Services is considering offering compliance services for electronics producers affected by the WEEE Directive.

September 2006: Environment Agency is criticised for its "confusing" guidance over the recycling of WEEE at household recycling centres.

September 2006: High Street retailer Argos has ruled out offering in-store take-back services under forthcoming producer responsibility regulations.

September 2006: The growing problem of discarded liquid crystal displays (LCDs) is the subject of a new £1.7m research project backed by the DTI.

August 2006: Mobile phone recycling has "taken the web by storm", according to Macclesfield-based phone recycling business, the Eazyfone Group.

August 2006: REPIC has expressed concern over the "compressed" timetable for forthcoming new recycling regulations, due to hit in July next year.

August 2006: The amount of WEEE requiring collection when new producer responsibility rules come into force next year could be much higher than expected.

August 2006: A Merseyside company is offering a market for glass recycled from all of the UK's end-of-life televisions and computer monitors.

August 2006: The Federation of Small Businesses objects to fees proposed for small electronics producers under forthcoming producer responsibility legislation.

August 2006: The DTI's proposal for an evidence system to verify producer responsibility for WEEE has been criticised for being difficult to manage.

August 2006: Defra has published a study on WEEE arising at local authority sites that could form the basis for new guidance on the new regulations.

July 2006: Recyclers fear new WEEE regulations could see a consolidation of their customer base and the potential for some operators to under-cut costs.

July 2006: WRAP is inviting electronics producers to get involved in a series of trials showing how plastics can be recycled from WEEE back into new electrical products.

July 2006: Producers have given the latest WEEE consultation a "cautious welcome", with some doubts expressed over expected costs.
 

July 2006: The Final Consultation  The DTI has issued a draft of the WEEE Regulations in the  last major consultation before new rules are set in December  and producer responsibility comes into force in July 2007.

July 2006: The Republic of Ireland government has said the WEEE Directive can be made to work – and without hitting jobs in the electronics industry.

July 2006: The Furniture Re-use Network is setting up a trading arm to win national-scale contracts for refurbishing waste electronic equipment.

July 2006: The RoHS Directive - the sister Directive of the WEEE Directive - came into force, restricting the use of hazardous substances in making electronics.
 

June 2006: The European Commission has begun the very  early stages of its 2008 review of the WEEE Directive, seeking  views on the Directive's operation from stakeholders through  an online consultation.

June 2006: Waste firm Biffa has said it will go it alone in running the pre-compliance scheme Transform, splitting from partner European Metal Recycling.

June 2006: Midlands waste firm AWM Group starts work installing a new recycling plant capable of reprocessing 300,000 tonnes of CRTs a year.

June 2006: Renfrew-based electronics recycler Environcom announced on Wednesday that it is to invest £25 million in three new reprocessing plants across London.

June 2006: Electronics recycling company Bruce Metals Ltd revealed yesterday that its new CRT recycling plant in Sheffield is operating beyond expectations.

June 2006: Organisations aiming to run compliance schemes for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) have joined forces to engage with the DTI.
 

June 2006: A timetable for implementation?  The DTI has suggested Waste Electrical and Electronic  Equipment regulations will be implemented from January 1  2007, with full implementation on July 1 next year.

June 2006: Costs for the recycling of waste electronics faced by consumers purchasing new equipment are much lower than was feared, Hewlett Packard said this week.

June 2006: DTI minister Malcolm Wicks hit back at industry criticism of the way the government has handled implementation of the WEEE Directive.

June 2006:  Industry association AMDEA lashed out at the DTI over implementation of the WEEE Directive and its refusal to adopt a visible fee for historic WEEE.

June 2006: Electronics industry consortium REPIC calls for an "allocation centre" to organise producer responsibility for waste electronics.

June 2006: Transform, an organisation aiming to be a WEEE compliance scheme, suggests a free market approach to organising WEEE collections may not work.

May 2005: In one of the first responses to the DTI's informal consultation on WEEE, producer responsibility organisation Valpak reveals concern over collection limits.
 

May 2006: Further detail on DTI proposals  More detail on the DTI's approach towards new recycling  regulations for waste electronics has been revealed, including  clarifications on business WEEE and the role of collection sites.

April 2006: The LGA has demanded more funding for WEEE designated collection points, and for retailers to work more closely with producers on their obligations.

April 2006: Reprocessors have been warned of serious health and safety risks if WEEE is not manually dismantled before shredding.

April 2006: The Republic of Ireland government has claimed good progress in meeting its WEEE Directive obligations seven months after the Directive came into force.

April 2006: The DTI has started discussions with industry and emphasised its determination to achieve WEEE recycling in line with its proposals.

March 2006: Early analysis of new proposals on WEEE producer responsibility suggest not all has gone the way of producers. 
 

March 2006: Fresh DTI proposals  The DTI has issued proposals as a platform for discussions  regarding potential new regulations for the collection and  recycling of waste electrical appliances.

March 2006: The DTI looks likely to issue discussion papers soon to shed light on several key, unresolved areas within new producer responsibility regulations.

March 2006: Germany has said it is now ready for producer responsibility to start this month, bringing into force the terms of Europe's WEEE Directive.

March 2006: A research project carried out in Hampshire has suggested regular kerbside collections of WEEE are a possibility.

February 2006: UK councils will share an interim payment of £14.7m to cover "new burden costs" to deal with hazardous waste electronics, the DTI has said.

February 2006: Logistics company Wincanton has opened its new £4.5 million electronic recycling plant in Billingham near Middlesbrough.

January 2006: The DTI is taking its next steps towards a fresh consultation over new rules for the collection and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment.

December 2005: Despite further delay to WEEE implementation in UK, capacity for CRT recycling set to increase early in 2006

December 2005: UK producers of electronics goods have welcomed the government's decision to once again delay new producer responsibility regulations for WEEE.
 

December 2005: New delay for WEEE regulations Minister Malcolm Wicks confirmed that the implementation of Europe's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive is to be delayed again.

December 2005: Lincolnshire-based recycler Environcom has revealed plans to install a network of recycling facilities for electronic equipment across the UK and Ireland.

November 2005: Lamp recycler Mercury Recycling has opened a new recycling plant, using technology designed by the company.

November 2005: Last-minute discussions on new waste electronics regulations are focussing on how producer responsibility costs will be shared out between electronics manufacturers.

October 2005: Interim results from a study funded by WRAP suggests it is commercially viable to separate and treat bromine from electrical waste rather than send the material for disposal.

October 2005: The electronics industry has been warned of a "cumbersome" task in registering obligations under the European WEEE Directive.

October 2005: A "national settlement centre" has been proposed to help with producer responsibility for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

October 2005: Defra has said it will leave consumers to police the legal requirements for small retailers to provide free take-back services for waste electronics, once new rules take effect in June 2006.

September 2005: Local authorities will be able to bid for money from January 2006 to pay for the upgrade of CA sites to collect WEEE, according to Valpak.

September 2005: Retailers are being urged to join up with the British Retail Consortium-backed compliance scheme to take care of their obligations to collect and recycle waste electronics.

September 2005: WEEE management company TES-AMM Europe Ltd has acquired the Scottish branch of waste electronics reprocessor Citiraya.

September 2005: Producer responsibility organisation Valpak has been named as preferred bidder to run the British Retail Consortium's Retail Compliance Scheme for waste electronics.

August 2005: The European Recycling Platform has announced that it is the first waste electrical and electronic equipment compliance scheme to be running in multiple countries.

August 2005: Hewlett Packard is moving forward with its European take-back scheme, despite some Member States delaying new rules on the collection and recycling of WEEE.

August 2005: The government has said it will cover the cost of WEEE being collected separately at local authority civic amenity sites in the UK.

August 2005: The Irish government has announced that two producer compliance schemes have been approved for the collection and management of WEEE in the Republic.

August 2005: UK-based producers and compliance schemes have backed the government's decision to delay the start of producer responsibility for waste electrical and electronic equipment.

August 2005: The British Retail Consortium has said that it will be keeping its current timetable to select a company to run its retail compliance scheme, despite the delay to the start of retail responsibility.  
 

August 2005: WEEE regulations delayed The government has announced a hefty delay to the start of producer responsibility for waste electrical and electronic equipment.

August 2005: Electronics producers with small obligations for household WEEE under forthcoming producer responsibility regulations may face unnecessary costs.

August 2005: Local Authority officers have voiced concern that councils are being strong-armed by retailers into registering civic amenity sites as collection points for waste electronics.

August 2005: Compliance scheme REPIC has denounced the possibility of small producers complying with the WEEE Directive by purchasing compliance from larger producers.

July 2005: Compliance schemes REPIC and B2B have joined forces to offer producers of business electronics and consumer electronics an integrated service for producer responsibility.

July 2005: Anglo-German quality assurance association RAL has written to EU ministers about a potential loophole in the WEEE Directive concerning fridge recycling.

July 2005: The British Retail Consortium is meeting with Welsh local authorities to attempt agreement on a collection site network for retail WEEE.

July 2005: Defra has issued new guidance on how local authorities are to handle WEEE at civic amenity sites.

July 2005: The implementation of the WEEE Directive in the UK looks to be months away as Parliament breaks up for the summer.

July 2005: The British Retail Consortium has said an operator should be in place for its retail compliance scheme by mid-August so that funds can be distributed from September.

June 2005: Two WEEE compliance schemes have teamed up to find a logistics and recycling partner to provide WEEE services for their members.

June 2005: LARAC has said councils should be given enough funding to provide separation at source within CA sites for waste electrical and electronic equipment.

June 2005: Logistics company Wincanton has invested £4 million in a new electrical equipment recycling plant near Middlesbrough.

June 2005: The British Retail Consortium is seeking a company to run its WEEE retail compliance scheme.

May 2005: Lincolnshire-based electronics recycler Environcom is to launch a new reprocessing facility in the North East of England later this year.

May 2005: A Spanish expert says European countries aiming to meet the WEEE Directive should concentrate efforts on treatment rather collections.

May 2005: The government has said it will cost producers of electrical equipment around £3 million a year to cover the costs of regulating WEEE legislation.

May 2005: Electronics producers' compliance scheme REPIC has pledged support for local authorities to upgrade civic amenity sites for WEEE collections.

May 2005: Local authorities are "incredibly disappointed" with offered £8.2 million to upgrade over civic amenity sites to collect waste electronics.

May 2005: Councils are to get one-off payments of between up to £6,000 to upgrade civic amenity sites for the collection of WEEE.

April 2005: Comet has awarded a contract to logistics firm Wincanton to manage waste electronics collected from households across the UK.

April 2005: Publishing new draft regulations on WEEE, the Irish government has said enforcing the system will be a priority - with non-compliant producers facing £10 million fines or the prospect of jail.

April 2005: European electronics recyclers have urged Brussels to redraft the WEEE Directive to create a level playing field for industry across the EU.

April 2005: The men responsible for Manchester's "fridge mountain" have been given fines of just £500 each, with the Environment Agency admitting there is little more it can do.

March 2005: Hewlett Packard has said proposals for producers to use "reasonable estimates" to calculate their business WEEE obligations could lead to inaccuracies because of WEEE migrating into the household sector.

March 2005: Electronics industry experts have warned that the DTI's new start date for WEEE producer responsibility - January 2006 - may be overly ambitious.
 

March 2005: WEEE regulation date The government has said new regulations on waste electronics will be completed later this year, with producer responsibility starting in January 2006.

March 2005: Compliance scheme REPIC has said it will be ready for producer responsibility by August 13, despite delays to new UK regulations.

March 2005: As industry awaits new WEEE regulations, the DTI has said that there will be an announcement from the government within the next few weeks.

February 2005: The UK looks set to postpone the start of the WEEE Directive from August 13 2005 until early 2006, with plans for a Clearing House seemingly dropped by the DTI in favour of a "No Frills" approach to producer responsibility.

February 2005: Germany has become the first EU state to adopt the WEEE Directive into domestic law, opting for a clearing house-style system.

February 2005: Compliance scheme Valpak is in talks with a number of UK firms with the aim of setting up a trial waste electronics collection and recycling service.

February 2005: Local authorities and waste management companies are beginning to upgrade civic amenity sites to accept waste electronics, despite continuing delays to new legislation.

January 2005: The photographic industry organisation launches a WEEE compliance scheme specifically for the waste industry.

January 2005: Citiraya Recycling opens a Cathode Ray Tube recycling centre in that uses state of the art laser technology.

January 2005: European electronics recyclers issue a warning about the delays implicating the WEEE Directive into national legislations.

December 2004: Stakeholders warn that the timetable for the WEEE Directive is "impossible", but back proposals for a national clearing house.
 

December 2004: WEEE regulations delayed The government has released a report summarising the responses to its third consultation on WEEE.

November 2004: Onyx has unveiled a new collection and recycling service for WEEE.

November 2004: Braun, Electrolux, HPO and Sony set up the first ever pan-European take-back and compliance scheme for WEEE.

November 2004: The Environment Agency has said that it is unsure of its role of the fuill extent of its role as WEEE regulator.

November 2004: Hewlett Packard has urged the government not to close the door on the possibility of producers having own brand responsibility for WEEE.

November 2004: Dixons group has claimed there is a "responsibility gap" in the draft WEEE legislations.

November 2004: WEEE collection and recycling organisation Transform has called for clarity in the role of a National Clearing House for WEEE.

October 2004: Logistics experts have said retailers should act now to improve return systems, or will face avoidable costs when new WEEE regulations come into force.

October 2004: Sims has acquired waste electronics recycling business MIREC from waste management firm SITA.

September 2004: Dell is to offer a take back service for consumers to return their end of life Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).

September 2004: Sims Group has developed a process to recycle plastics from waste electronics.

September 2004: Valpak is to run a compliance scheme for the WEEE Directive on behalf of its members.

September 2004: Sims and Grundons have launched a WEEE collection and treatment service.

September 2004: Industry has called for a delay to the start of producer responsibility for waste electronics.

August 2004: A new compliance scheme has been launched to serve the business-to-business equipment sector under new waste electronics regulations.

August 2004: Electronics manufacturers revealed intentions for a National Clearing House to handle producer responsibility under the WEEE Directive.

August 2004: Councils wishing to collect waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) face uncertainties under the latest government proposals.
 

July 2004: WEEE consultation In its latest consultation on WEEE, the government has said producers will have to decide how a National Clearing House will work for WEEE.

July 2004: The Environment Agency and SEPA have published draft guidance for recyclers on waste electronics.

July 2004: Three European electronics manufacturers have formed a new compliance scheme to handle their WEEE Directive obligations.

July 2004: The Environment Agency has been criticised for insufficient action on illegal exports of WEEE.

July 2004: The government has said new regulations on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) will not be passed by Parliament before October.

June 2004: The British Retail Consortium puts its retail compliance scheme on hold as the government delays new regulations.

June 2004: European Electronics Recyclers Association raises concern that proposed rules on data collection c ould create unfair competition.

June 2004: Discussions on the operation of a clearing house holds up publication of the third consultation on new WEEE regulations.

May 2004: Councils should work with retailers on WEEE collections, the Local Government Association has said.

May 2004: New rules on used fluorescent tubes from industry mean thousands of businesses could generate skiploads of "hazardous" waste, it has emerged.
 

April 2004: WEEE consultation results The DTI has said a WEEE clearing house proposal has received widespread support.

April 2004: The Recycling Electrical Producers Industry Consortium (REPIC) called for a visible fee for customers to fund waste electronics recycling.

April 2004: The government has proposed a voluntary approach for manufacturers to stop using "killer chips" to prevent printer cartridge recycling.

March 2004: A group of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recyclers has established a new European trade association.

March 2004: The government said there was a "strong prospect" that Europe would set targets for the re-use of waste electrical and electronic equipment in 2008.

March 2004: The Dixons Group warned that government proposals jeopardise existing take-back activities.

March 2004: Electrolux said producer responsibility on WEEE should be based on the weight or number of units sold and not sales revenue, as proposed by government.

March 2004: Retailers have hit out at the DTI's proposed approach for a £10 million retailers' fund for WEEE collection.

March 2004: Hewlett Packard says consumers should not pay for WEEE recycling through a visible fee on new electrical goods.

February 2004: London Assembly has slammed boroughs' "unrealistic" plans to meet the WEEE Directive,

February 2004: An ICER study has revealed potential problems for the toy sector in meeting European recycling targets.

January 2004: The British Retail Consortium is inviting expressions of interest from companies willing to partner it in a new WEEE compliance scheme for retailers.

January 2004: London Remade has said that £20 million investment will be needed in London to cope with forthcoming UK regulations requiring the collection and recycling of waste electronics.

January 2004: Four potential uses for waste glass from cathode ray tubes have been identified in a new report from WRAP, the Waste and Resources Action Programme.

January 2004: Twelve manufacturers have joined together to set up a second compliance scheme for waste electrical equipment

December 2003: Existing local authority waste infrastructure unlikely to cope with the demands of the WEEE Directive, the Local Government Association has warned.

December 2003: DEFRA has urged councils to get involved in WEEE collections despite having no obligation under forthcoming regulations.

November 2003: The four major manufacturers that formed the European Recycling Platform in 2002 have now revealed their intention to operate a pan-European compliance scheme for waste electrical equipment.

November 2003: The Local Government Association has told MPs that the government's implementation of European producer responsibility legislation too often avoids the "polluter pays" principle.

November 2003: Refurbit has become the first community sector organisation to achieve accreditation from the Industry Council of Electronic Equipment Recycling (ICER).
 

October 2003: MEPs have adopted an amendment to the WEEE Directive, making suppliers of business electronics responsible for the recycling of appliances replaced on a like-for-like basis.

October 2003: The DTI has reassured local authorities by pledging to make producers of electrical goods pay for WEEE recycling carried out by local authorities.

October 2003: Consumer electronics repair and refurbishment company Endeva has said that it is continuing its involvement in the WEEE recycling scheme Transform despite entering receivership.

October 2003: Businesses need to take into account the 'balance sheet liability' of the WEEE Directive, a government official has warned.

September 2003: Recycle-IT, a social enterprise refurbishment organisation, warned that the community sector would be under threat if the government did not promote re-use as part of its implementation of the Directive.

July 2003: Electrical retailer Comet has launched a pilot scheme for free take-back of fridges and freezers in the South of England, as required by the WEEE Directive.

July 2003: Glass from fluorescent light tubes can be recycled back into light tubes, but problems still exist in finding markets for recycled television glass, studies by WRAP and ICER have found.

June 2003: Results from a study appear to confirm that the UK is already exceeding the WEEE directive target of 4kg per head of separately collected equipment.
 

June 2003:  WEEE Consultation closes The DTI's first consultation on the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive has come to a close.

June 2003: Multi-national electrical equipment manufacturers have proposed a system of national 'clearing-houses' as a solution to the WEEE Directive's demands.

May 2003: IT manufacturer Hewlett Packard called for a limit to be set in the amount of waste electronics and electrical equipment (WEEE) to be collected for recycling, but this was firmly rejected by the government.

May 2003: The European Commission proposed amending the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Directive to include like-for-like take-back for historic WEEE to protect electronics companies with declining sales.

April 2003: Electrical retailers and distributors will have to reinstate their "take back" service for fridges and freezers from private households, the government has confirmed.
 

March 2003:  WEEE Consultation The government has launched the first stage of its consultation process into implementing the WEEE Directive into UK law. letsrecycle.com provides a guide to the main points laid out as a platform for discussion

February 2003: The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive has been adopted into European law. Member states now have until 2004 to implement it into domestic laws.

 February 2003: The government is now working on a consultation paper on the implementation of the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

January 2003: The Better Regulation Task Force, which reports to the Cabinet Office, is undertaking a review of producer responsibility in WEEE and ELVs.
 

December 2002: The EU Parliament and Council of Ministers have passed the WEEE Directive and its related Directive on the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS).

December 2002: Four manufacturers have announced that they will work together to meet the demands of the forthcoming European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive.

November 2002: A report published by the DTI has hinted that the UK may struggle to develop an efficient recycling infrastructure ahead of the transposition of the WEEE directive into domestic law.

October 2002: UK electronics manufacturers have called for a system of individual responsibility in any UK implementation of the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive Directive.

October 2002: After the European Parliament and Council of Ministers reached an agreement on the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive Directive, the DTI has published a document highlighting the main conclusions.

September 2002: As a conciliation period continues over the proposed European Commission Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, letsrecycle.com sums up where the UK stands with waste electronics.

May 2002: Representatives of the European Parliament and Council this week began a three month conciliation process to determine the final content of the WEEE directive. The process has been put in motion because Parliament threw out some of Council's proposals in April.

April 2002: The European Parliament has said that consumers must sort their electronic waste, but has rejected a proposal to fine consumers if they fail to do this in its latest vote on the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive.

February 2002: The government has responded to the latest confusion surrounding fridges by clarifying that end-of-life fridges are not hazardous waste.

January 2002: A warning was sounded by the Environment Agency, industry and local authorities that lessons must be learnt from the fridge recycling crisis to prevent another disaster in the implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive.

January 2002: The recycling of electronic and electrical equipment will have to start in the UK by the end of 2003. In this article, letsrecycle.com looks at the legislation and its likely impact.

November 2001: The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published a list of "Frequently Asked Questions" which it hopes will help to resolve some of the confusion surrounding the forthcoming ozone regulations.

October 2001: The Government has said that a PRN-type system could be introduced to help implement the WEEE Directive.
 

May 2001:The European Parliament has decided to press for tougher targets and tighter deadlines in EU rules on the recovery and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).