As previously mentioned in a report by Valpak regarding the WEEE Directive Recast in January 2012, the time has finally arrived and the WEEE Recast is now European Union law. The Member States will now have 18 months to update their WEEE legislation giving them until January 2014 to complete any updates to existing WEEE Regulations.
The UK has kept up to speed with former legislation, complying with the set target to collect 4kg of WEEE per person per year; however, the WEEE Recast revised targets requires more effort to ensure the UK meet the outlined criteria.
Some of the WEEE Directive Recast changes include:
- By 2016, 45% of WEEE to be collected for recycling.
- By 2019, this is due to increase to an equivalent of 65% of WEEE for recycling.
- Retailers of electrical items, with shop space covering at least 400m², are required to provide a facility for customers to return smaller WEEE items free of charge.
- There will also be tougher restrictions on the illegal export of WEEE to enforce environmental compliance.
