Currently, sites collecting WEEE can store up to 50 cubic metres of material for no more than three months if they wish to remain exempt from needing a permit, a restriction which the Croydon-based compliance scheme branded “unworkable” in terms of requiring it to collect half-empty containers.
This news is major development for the lighting industry and is greatly welcomed by Recolight, which has been lobbying for this change for the past year
Nigel Harvey, chief executive, Recolight
But, under changes the changes which are being made as part of the amended Environmental Permitting Regulations, a non-registerable exemption has been created which means up to 30 cubic metres of WEEE can be stored for an unlimited period.
The impact of this change on lamp recycling was highlighted by Recolight's chief executive, Nigel Harvey, who said: “This news is major development for the lighting industry and is greatly welcomed by Recolight, which has been lobbying for this change for the past year.”
Mr Harvey claimed that the current restrictions meant that the scheme's 900 collections points often had to empty containers regardless of how many lamps had been collected.
“The amended Regulations will help reduce the carbon footprint of collections as bins will now only have to be emptied when they are full. It will also help cut down on unnecessary paperwork for sites,” he added.
The change, which was confirmed with the publication of the final draft permitting regulations document last month (January 25), is expected to be particularly significant for lamps, where collection tonnages are markedly lower than many other categories of WEEE due to their small size.
It only applies to material stored at a collection point before being treated elsewhere and not to bulked up material, and as such will generally apply to locations such as wholesalers and retailers.
Contrast
News of a positive response to one of the planned changes to the permitting system comes in marked contrast to the reaction to proposed changes affecting other parts of the waste and recycling sector.
In particular, concerns been raised by the metal recycling sector about the impact that the removal of the paragraph 45 exemption could have on scrap yards (see letsrecycle.com story) and organics recyclers have rallied against the potential effect the changes could have on composters and anaerobic digestion plant operators (see letsrecycle.com story).
A consultation on draft guidance for the new exemptions system, which was launched in October 2009, closed last month, and a final guidance document is expected to be published before the new regulations take effect.
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