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WEEE Extended Producer Responsibility

On the 28th December 2023, Defra published and opened a consultation and a call for evidence on the reform of The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013.
Under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) the reform of the WEEE regulations will take a different approach to the reform of the packaging regulations due to EEE being (electrical and electronic equipment) higher in value and is purchased by consumers occasionally, compared to the higher frequency of packaging purchases.

There are two elements to this consultation process;

Consultation

consultation document containing formal proposals with 74 questions. Defra seek views on policy proposals in the following areas:

  • Increasing collections of waste electrical and electronic equipment from households
  • Increasing distributor collections infrastructure
  • New producer obligations for online marketplaces and fulfilment houses
  • Dealing with the environmental impacts of vaping products
  • System governance, the creation of a WEEE scheme administrator and performance indicators

Call for Evidence

call for evidence document containing less formal proposals on areas for potential reform with 71 questions. Defra seek views and evidence on the following areas of potential reform:

  • Full net cost recovery
  • Allocation of costs for the collection and treatment of household WEEE
  • Prevention of waste and increasing re-use of unwanted electrical and electronic equipment
  • Moving to a circular economy through the design of better products and business models
  • Increasing collections of business WEEE
  • Improving treatment standards
Both the consultation and call for evidence close at 11:45pm on 7th March 2024. Beyondly will be responding to both now that we have engaged with our stakeholders to understand their views.
Beyondly will be supporting their members throughout the reform and will be in touch with updates when relevant. However, should you have any questions or you are looking to join a WEEE scheme to guide you through these changes, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team, on solutions@beyond.ly

Why are the WEEE regulations being reformed?

Whilst the existing WEEE regulations do facilitate reducing the environmental impacts caused by end-of life electronic and electrical items, the government are looking to reform the WEEE regulations for several reasons:

  • The existing WEEE system does not fully incorporate full net cost principles
  • Lack of provisions in the regulations to support the drive towards a circular economy
  • Lack of public awareness and an inconvenience associated with disposal of WEEE, which therefore does not drive circular behaviour
  • An estimated 155 kilotonnes of domestic WEEE is disposed of annually by UK households, but even so we are hoarding millions of small electrical appliances in households, weighing around 190,000 tonnes
  • Inequality in costs covered by online producers and sellers, compared to traditional routes to market
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Research Project:

Beyondly conducts research ahead of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) reform to determine whether producers are ready for future implementation of eco-modulation and eco-design.

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Reforming the WEEE compliance system: a consultation and call for evidence published by Defra

On the 28th December 2023, Defra published and opened a consultation and a call for evidence on the reform of The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013.
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Will you be affected by WEEE EPR?

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