The amendment comes after the UK’s definition of household and non-household WEEE – crucially ‘dual use’ items such as PCs, which could conceivably be used in business or by consumers – was found to be at odds with that held by the European Commission.
In June BIS put forward proposals to address the difference after the Commission published an FAQ document on the WEEE Directive which stated that WEEE from businesses should be considered as being from a household source, if it is similar in nature to that produced by households (see letsrecycle.com).
This was at odds with the UK’s definitions of business and household WEEE which hinged on the quantity of WEEE being presented for collection.
In a bulletin sent to schemes yesterday evening (October 16), BIS revealed that it is to change the UK definition of ‘dual use’ WEEE to incorporate the Commission’s guidance.
BIS will be amending statutory guidance to place the onus on producers to determine whether an item is dual use based on its product design, intended use and whether it is likely to arise as waste from households.
The guidance will come into effect from January 2016, to allow schemes, producers and treatment facility operators time to adjust to the changes.
Costs
BIS has claimed that the change is likely to affect the distribution of cost amongst producers. Some producers who have been producing WEEE for the non-household market are likely to have to finance the recycling of a greater proportion of household WEEE.
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In its note to schemes and treatment facility operators yesterday, BIS stated: “Ministers have concluded that our statutory guidance should be amended to introduce the concept of ‘dual use’ (i.e. the classification of WEEE arising from businesses as household WEEE if it is a product that can be used in both households and business premises) into the UK WEEE system with effect from 1 January 2016.
“This would require producers placing EEE on the market in 2015 to report “dual use” EEE as B2C. Our guidance will be consistent with the position on dual use as set out in the European Commission’s WEEE FAQ.”
Assessment
The Department has noted that it is also to undertake a detailed assessment of the likely impact on the costs and benefits of the change and to understand where any financial pressures may arise.
It added: “The purpose of this work will be to inform guidance that we will publish to assist producers and recyclers to correctly classify EEE and WEEE as either household or non-household. We aim to conclude this work by March 2015. Producers, using this guidance, would then be required to classify products placed on the UK market as either household or non household in 2015. That data would then be used to apportion the 2016 household WEEE collection targets according to market share.”
Commenting on the ruling, Nigel Harvey, chief executive of lighting industry WEEE compliance scheme Recolight said it is likely to create a ‘level playing field’ for producers whose products are mostly sold to the household market.
He said: “We welcome the government’s decision to implement dual use. We think it is the correct legal interpretation of the UK’s 2013 WEEE regulations, which already include the dual use clause in the definition of Household WEEE. At the same time, we also think it is fair. It creates a more level playing field, with a greater proportion of producers funding their share of household recycling.
“It should also mean that those producers who classify most or all their EEE as household will see their costs come down in 2016. For too long, consumers have been funding some business WEEE recycling. This change corrects that imbalance.”
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