This means that online retailers will be responsible for covering the disposal costs of any products they place on the market.
Several industry stakeholders have responded to the news, with the reactions mostly being positive.
Defra
In a statement accompanying the announcement, circular economy minister Mary Creagh said: “Electrical equipment like vapes are being sold in the UK by producers who are failing to pay their fair share when recycling and reusing of dealing with old or broken items.
“Today we’re ending this: creating a level playing field for all producers of electronics, to ensure fairness and fund the cost of the treatment of waste electricals.
“As part of our Plan for Change, we are helping UK businesses compete and grow, and we continue to get more households recycling, cracking down on waste and ending the throwaway society.”
Currys
Alex Baldock, CEO at electrical retainer Currys, said: “We believe that if you sell something, this comes with a commitment to help keep it working, and then to recycle it responsibly when it reaches the end of its life. We continue to do everything we can to give tech a longer life, but there are many who don’t.
We welcome the government’s new measures to help level the playing field for responsibility for waste, making online marketplaces do their part. Low value, low quality and unsustainable tech is piling up in landfills, and it’s good to see government doing something to tackle that. We’ll continue to work with them to help ensure our industry performs its important role in helping protect our planet and be a force for good.
Material Focus
Scott Butler, executive director at WEEE non-profit Material Focus, said: “We welcome the government’s vital new reforms to the waste electrical regulations. FastTech items such as vapes, have swamped the UK market, with half a billion items bought in the past year alone. These small, cheap and too easily thrown away items contain valuable materials such as copper, gold, and lithium which are lost forever and could instead power our tech future.
“These changes to regulations will mean that online marketplaces, many of which are selling FastTech and other electricals, must take on their producer responsibilities and contribute their share of the costs of recycling them. Creating a separate category for vapes also means that those who have been profiting from the boom in their sales can be held responsible for providing public takeback, communications and most importantly pay for recycling them.”
The Environmental Services Association (ESA)
Head of recycling policy at the Environmental Services Association (ESA), Patrick Brighty, said: “The ESA strongly supports measures to minimise the risk of freeloading by overseas electronics producers who are not paying their way to ensure their products are recycled properly in the UK. This currently places additional burden on UK-based retailers, but today’s announcement helps to level the playing field and will generate additional funding for waste electrical recycling services.
“Thousands of tonnes of waste electricals, including millions of vapes, are binned instead of being correctly recycling in the UK every year and, in addition to being a waste of precious resources, pose a serious fire risk that costs the recycling and waste sector billions and put lives and critical infrastructure at risk. The ESA believes the best way to solve this growing problem is to properly fund and implement kerbside collections for WEEE across the country, rather than the postcode lottery of kerbside collections that exists today. While we welcome today’s announcement, the ESA urges government to commit to wider reforms of WEEE recycling services as part of its Circular Economy Strategy.”
REPIC
Graeme Milne, chief executive at compliance scheme REPIC, said: “REPIC, the UK’s largest producer compliance scheme, welcomes the Government’s recognition of the need for targeted measures to address the unique challenges posed by vapes and electronic goods sold online. These changes ensure a fairer system where all stakeholders share responsibility for recycling costs.
“REPIC will continue its ongoing dialogue with policymakers, focusing on refining the implementation of these measures while representing producer perspectives in future regulatory developments. Collaboration remains essential to scaling recycling infrastructure and driving public engagement, ensuring the UK addresses its e-waste challenges responsibly.”
Recolight
CEO of WEEE compliance scheme Recolight, Nigel Harvey, said: “It is great to see this change announced. For far too long, many online marketplaces have been able to avoid WEEE costs. That in turn has meant that legitimate UK businesses pay more than their fair share. This change is a vital step to make sure that compliant UK businesses are not put at a competitive disadvantage by non-compliant imports.
“Recolight has campaigned to close the online marketplace WEEE loophole for many years. We’ve undertaken research that has shown the huge proportion of non-compliant product sold via such platforms. For example, one analysis showed that 76% of LED lightbulbs sold by a leading online marketplace were not WEEE compliant. For the 220 producer members of the Recolight WEEE scheme, this change cannot come too soon.”
The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM)
A spokesperson from the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) said: “These are welcome and common-sense improvements from Government, which close a couple of loopholes currently giving online retailers an unfair advantage in avoiding their responsibilities and vape manufacturers a free ride to place largely unrecyclable materials on the market.
“Electricals are a growing and complex waste stream, and every step towards levelling the pitch and helping towards higher recycling levels is a positive.”
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