The Directive, and its sister Directive on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), has been posted on the Public Register of Council Documents of the European Union. EU Member States are now obliged to implement the regulations by 13th August 2004.
The UK will have until September 2005 to introduce take-back systems and collection facilities for all types of electrical and electronic equipment. The WEEE must be collected separately rather than ending up in unsorted municipal waste.
The Directives include a collection target of 4kg per capita per year for WEEE, a ban on the use of heavy metals and toxic flame retardants in goods by July 2006 and the ruling that individual producers should be responsible for financing the waste treatment of their own products.
The regulations are now being looked at by the government's WEEE implementation team, which consists of economists, legal experts and policy officials from the DTI, the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency.
The DTI, which is leading the implementation process, is expected to publish a consultation paper by April or May 2003 outlining its first thoughts on a collection, treatment and financing system.
For more information on the WEEE and RoHS Directives, see the letsrecycle.com legislation section.
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