Q: What are the WEEE and ROHS Directives?
Q: Why do we have these directives are they really necessary?
Q: Are the two directives related?
Q: What types of equipment do the directives cover?
Q: How much WEEE do we have to collect and recycle?
Q: What does 'separately collect' mean?
Q: What does recovery mean?
Q: What does re-use mean?
Q: What are the WEEE and ROHS Directives?
A: WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. ROHS stands for the Restriction of Certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment. Both the WEEE and ROHS Directives are pieces of European legislation which requires all European member states, including the UK, to improve the way we manage WEEE and IT equipment.
Q: Why do we have these directives are they really necessary?
A: Implementing the directives' requirements should reduce risks to human health and environment through the proper treatment of waste and a reduction in hazardous substances. We also expect benefits through the conservation of raw materials and of energy resources. The directives should lead to a reduction in air pollution, including CO2 and ozone depleting substances, and water toxicity by more than 50% when compared to existing practice. In particular the WEEE directive will help us to divert between 133,000 and 339,300 tonnes of waste from landfill and the ROHS directive should help future recycling through reducing the need for special handling, allowing a reduction in recycling costs.
Q: Are the two directives related?
A: Yes: The WEEE directive aims to raise levels of recycling of WEEE and encourage products to be designed with dismantling and recycling in mind. A key part of this is to make manufacturers and importers ( "producers") of electrical and electronic equipment responsible for meeting the costs of the collection, treatment and recovery of WEEE. If products are designed with this in mind, there is an opportunity to reduce these costs.
The ROHS directive fits into this by reducing the amount of hazardous substances used in products. This lessons the risks to recycling staff and means that less special handling is required, again leading to a reduction in recycling costs.
Q: What types of equipment do the directives cover?
A: The WEEE directive includes a list of categories of electrical and electronic equipment. These are presented in Annex 1A of the directive. There are 10 categories ranging from large household appliances to automatic dispensers. Annex 1B of the directives lists some example products within each of these categories. However this is only a list of examples and other products which fit into the categories are also included.
The ROHS directive applies to the same products as covered in the Annexes to the WEEE directive with the exclusion of categories 8 ands 9 (medical devices and monitoring & control instruments).
There are some products which may be considered 'borderline' items as they do not fit neatly into any particular category. The UK government is seeking further advise on borderline products from the European Commission.
Q: How much WEEE do we have to collect and recycle?
A: The WEEE directive sets two types of targets : collection targets and recovery/recycling targets. It requires the UK to separately collect at least 4kg of households WEEE per inhabitant per year (around 250,000 tonnes). It does not set a collection target for WEEE from business customers (WEEE from users other than private households).
All WEEE which has been 'separately collected' , will need to be sent for specialist treatment and recovery processes specified in the WEEE directive. However it will still need to be managed according to general waste management controls.
Q: What does 'separately collect' mean?
A: The exact definition needs to be agreed. But generally, for household WEEE, 'separately collect' means providing the facilities to ensure that WEEE can be discarded separately from other waste or rubbish. If a householder decides to throw a broken hair dryer in the dustbin with their other waste, the hairdryer has not been separately collected. There is no obligation on anybody (e.g. a local authority) to separate it later.
Q: What does recovery mean?
A: The WEEE directive sets a collection target for household WEEE. It also sets recycling/re-use and recovery targets. Recovery does not mean 'collect'. Recovery is a waste management term. It includes recycling, burning with energy recovery and composting.
Q: What does re-use mean?
A: Re-use also has a specific meaning. Re-use can be applied to whole appliances or to components or parts. Typical examples of re-use of whole appliances include the refurbishment and sale of photocopier machines, the refurbishment of IT equipment etc.
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