WEEE Directive

The WEEE Directive is a wide-ranging piece of European environmental legislation. It is one of a small number, which implement the principle of “extended producer responsibility”. Under this principle, producers are required to take financial responsibility for the environmental impact of products they place on the market, especially when those products become waste. The WEEE Directive applied this principle in relation to electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).

The broad aim of the WEEE Directive is to address the environmental impacts of EEE when it reaches end of life and to encourage separate collection, treatment, re-use, recovery, recycling and environmentally sound disposal. There is therefore an impact in terms of cost, which will be passed down the supply chain on products which fall within the scope of the directive (A full List can be found here).

The WEEE Directive comes into force from 1st July 2007 and from this date Bemco, as a distributor, will pass on the recycling charges where applicable. The following are examples of products and the changes, which apply to specific cases. It is not an exhaustive list.

The WEEE charge will be 3p per CFL and 15p for all other lamps/tubes (excludes GLS) which will be shown as a separate line on the invoice. This charge will not be subject to any additional terms but is subject to VAT at the current rate. The charges for other products such as light fittings will be approximately 20p per fitting plus 15p per lamp. These costs may not be shown as a separate line by the manufactures and may be shown as a price rise.

View/Download WEEE Directive Flyer      

From the 1st July it will be much easier to dispose of WEEE in an appropriate way. Bemco are to be a collection point for lamps/tubes on behalf of Recolight who are acting on behalf of the manufacturers. There will be a container on site at Bemco Glasgow, which is to be available for use by our customers. There will be no charge for this service.

Bemco have signed up to Valpak who will take on our responsibilities for domestic appliances. Customers should in the first instance refer to their web site for the list of Approved and Accredited Treatment Facilities (AATF). These sites have been authorised to offer a free take back on appliances. They do not uplift appliances as the onus is still on the user to take the appliance to the AATF. The price of white goods will also rise to cover this cost.

Lumicon are administrating the proper disposal of light fittings and customers should refer to their website for a list of AATF’s. Again it is the responsibility of the end user to get the WEEE to the site where disposal is FOC.

The following web sites can be viewed for more information;
www.dti.gov.uk/innovation/sustainability/weee/page30269.html
www.valpak.co.uk/dts
www.recolight.co.uk
www.bemco.co.uk