Report: PS&H PP 14.06.07: Part I - (12) Wee2 Directive

PUBLIC SERVICES AND HEALTH POLICY PANEL –14JUNE 2007

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE – 25 JUNE 2007

PART I - NOT DELEGATED

12.WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE

(DLE)

1.Summary

1.1To advise members of the implications to the Authority following the introduction of the Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive on 1 July 2007.

2.Details

2.1The WEEE Directive aims to minimise the impact of electrical and electronic goods on the environment,by increasing re-use and recycling and reducing the amount of WEEE going to landfill.It seeks to achieve this by making producers responsible for financing the collection, treatment, and recovery of waste electrical equipment, and by obliging distributors to allow consumers to return their waste equipment free of charge.

2.2WEEE Regulations apply to electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) which falls within the 10 product categories listedin the WEEE Directive:-

1Large household appliances

2Small household appliances

3IT & Telecommunications equipment

4Consumer equipment

5Lighting equipment

6Electrical and electronic tools

7Toys leisure and sports equipment

8Medical devices

9Monitoring and control instruments

10Automatic dispensers

2.3Members will recall WEEE Directive in the UK has been delayed. It was due to be transposed into Member State legislation by 13 August 2004 and come into force by 13 August 2005, however the UKRegulations implementing the WEEE Directivewerelaidbefore Parliament on 12 December 2006and enter into force on 1 July 2007

2.4Therefore from 1July 2007 any Electrical / electronic item which falls into any of the 10 categories listed above, if placed out for a collection will need to be taken to a Designated Collection Facility (DCF), from where it will be collected by a company registered through the Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS). Batchworth Depot has therefore been registered as a DCF and in case of storage problems Furtherfield Depot has also been registered. Both sites have been accepted as DCFs, however Batchworth can only store items defined within categories 1 to 5 above and Furtherfield 1 & 2 only. This means that if requested the Council will be unable to collect items defined within categories 6 to 10 and the householder would have to find an alternative collector. A more detailedbreakdown of the types of items collected within each category is attached as Appendix A.

2.5Obviously these recommendations will affect the Council’s Special Collection service as from 1 July all electrical items collected via this service will need to be collected separately from those being landfilled. Currently it is only hazardous waste (fridges, freezers, televisions, computer monitors and fluorescent tubes) and a £12.50 surcharge is levied to the £25.00 special collection fee to partially cover the additional cost of doing so. It is therefore recommended that this surcharge be levied on all electrical and electronic goods covered by WEEE Directive. Members’ attention is drawn to the fact that this approach will not automatically mean a price increase, for example currently a resident calling to dispose of a fridge (hazardous waste) and a washing machine would pay £37.50, as 2 trips would be required. Under the new pricing structure they would only pay £25.00, as only one collection is required. It should also be noted that there is a 50% discount to residents receiving income support.

2.6All Herts.County Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRC) have been designated DCFs and therefore householders can take their WEEE to these for separate storage. These sites are also only licensed to store equipment falling into categories 1 to 5.

2.7HCC is currently tendering for a DTS compliant contractor to remove all WEEE from both HWRCs and Council Depots. Any associated costs for disposal will be met by them as disposal authority.

2.8Mixed domestic waste is exempt from the Regulations, therefore although it would not be recommended householders may place small electrical items within their residual waste bin and the Council would not be expected to collect and store it.

3.Options/Reasons for Recommendation

3.1The current £12.50 charge levied for the collection of hazardous waste (in addition to the standard charge for furniture items) covers the cost of the additional collection required and the storage of the item prior to disposal. As those items designated under the WEEE Directive are now being treated in the same manner, it seems reasonable to increase the charge for these items in line with fridges.

3.2An alternative would be to collect all the items on one vehicle and then return to Batchworth Depot and sort the items collected into 2 separate waste streams (WEEE ands other). The WEEE could then be stored and the ‘other’ taken to Waterdale. This would negate the need for the additional charge as only one collection would be made from each property. However, this option would reduce the numbers of collections carried out in one working day (currently averaging 25) and therefore in order to recoup the costs of sorting, if this option were chosen officers recommend that the charge for each collection be raised from £25 to £30 (£12.50 to £15 if resident is receiving benefits).

4.Policy/Budget Implications

4.1The recommendations in this report are within the Council’s agreed policy and budgets.

5.Financial Implications

5.1It is difficult to determine whether there will be an effect to Council budgets by levying increasing the cost for WEEE (if booked with non-electrical items), as in some instances the cost will be less compared to current pricing structures and in other instances more. Officers believe however that the pricing structure recommended will have a marginal effect on existing budgets.

6.Legal Implications

6.1From 1 July the Council is legally obliged to store all electrical and electronic items designated as WEEE and ensure that a registered company removes them for recycling.

7.Equal Opportunities Implications

7.1Relevance Test

8.Customer Service and Website implications,

8.1Both the Website and Proactive will need to be updated to reflect the increased charges, however the Customer Service staff will not require training on the new pricing structure, as it is similar to that already in place..

9.Staffing and Community Safety Implications

9.1.None specific

10.Environmental Implications

10.1It is possible that raising the charge for the collection of WEEE will increase the numbers flytipped. However, officers did not notice this trend when the fees were raised for hazardous waste.

10.2All domestic WEEE items that are recycled will be included in the Council’s annual recycling rate.

11.Risk Management Implications

11.1The Council has agreed its risk management strategy which can be found on the website at The risk management implications of this report are detailed below.

11.2The subject of this report is covered by the Environmental Protection service plan. Any risks resulting from this report will be included in the risk register and, if necessary, managed within thisplan.

11.3The following table gives the risks if the recommendation(s) are agreed, together with a scored assessment of their impact and likelihood:

11.4The following table gives the risks that would exist if the recommendation is rejected, together with a scored assessment of their impact and likelihood:

11.5Of the risks above none are already included in service plans.

11.6The above risks are plotted on the matrix below depending on the scored assessments of impact and likelihood, detailed definitions of which are included in the risk management strategy. The Council has determined its aversion to risk and is prepared to tolerate risks where the combination of impact and likelihood are plotted in the shaded area of the matrix. The remaining risks require a treatment plan.

11.7In the officers’ opinion none of the new risks above, were they to come about, would seriously prejudice the achievement of the Strategic Plan and are therefore operational risks. The effectiveness of treatment plans are reviewed by the Audit Committee annually.

12.Recommendation

12.1That Public Services and Health Policy Panel recommend to Executive Committee that:

12.1.1 the fees for collecting WEEE be increased in line with those for fridges/ freezers.

Report prepared by:Alison Page, Environmental Protection Manager

Background Papers

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive 2006.

APPENDIX A

Categories of electrical and electronic equipment covered by the WEEE

Regulations

1. Large household appliances

(Large cooling appliances; refrigerators; freezers; other large appliances used for

refrigeration, conservation and storage of food; washing machines; clothes dryers;

dish washing machines; cooking; electric stoves; electric hot plates; microwaves;

other large appliances used for cooking and other processing of food; electric

heating appliances; electric radiators; other large appliances for heating rooms,

beds, seating furniture; electric fans; air conditioner appliances; other fanning,

exhaust ventilation and conditioning equipment)

2. Small household appliances

(Vacuum cleaners; carpet sweepers; other appliances for cleaning; appliances

used for sewing, knitting, weaving and other processing for textiles; irons and other

appliances for ironing, mangling and other care of clothing; toasters; fryers;

grinders, coffee machines and equipment for opening or sealing of containers or

packages; electric knives; appliances for hair-cutting, hair drying, tooth brushing,

shaving, massage and other body care appliances; clocks, watches and equipment

for the purpose of measuring, indicating or registering time; scales)

3. IT and telecommunications equipment

(Centralised data processing; mainframes; minicomputers; printer units; personal

computing; personal computers, including the CPU, mouse and keyboard; laptop

computers, including the CPU, mouse and keyboard; notebook computers; notepad

computers; printers; copying equipment; electrical and electronic typewriters;

pocket and desk calculators; other products and equipment for the collection,

storage, processing, presentation or communication of information by electronic

means; user terminals and systems; facsimile; telex; telephones; pay telephones;

cordless telephones; cellular telephones; answering systems; other products or

equipment of transmitting sound, images or other information by

telecommunications)

4. Consumer equipment

(Radio sets; television sets; video cameras; video recorders; hi-fi recorders; audio

amplifiers; musical instruments; other products or equipment for the purpose of

recording or reproducing sound or images, including signals or other technologies

for the distribution of sound and image than by telecommunications)

5. Lighting equipment, (including electric light bulbs and household luminaires)

(Luminaires for fluorescent lamps with the exception of luminaires in households;

straight fluorescent lamps; compact fluorescent lamps; high intensity discharge

lamps, including pressure sodium lamps and metal halide lamps; low pressure

sodium lamps; other lighting equipment for the purpose of spreading or controlling

light with the exception of filament bulbs)

6. Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary

industrial tools)

(Drills; saws; sewing machines; equipment for turning, milling, sanding, grinding,

sawing; cutting; shearing; drilling; making holes; punching; folding; bending or

similar processing of wood, metal and other materials; tools for riveting, nailing or

screwing or removing rivets, nails, screws or similar uses; tools for welding,

soldering or similar use; equipment for spraying, spreading, dispersing or other

treatment of liquid or gaseous substances by other means; tools for mowing or

other gardening activities)

7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment

(Electric trains or car racing sets; hand-held video game consoles; video games;

computers for biking, diving, running, rowing, etc.; sports equipment with electric or

electronic components; coin slot machines)

8. Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products)

(Radiotherapy equipment; cardiology; dialysis; pulmonary ventilators; nuclear

medicine; laboratory equipment for in-vitro diagnosis; analysers; freezers;

fertilization tests; other appliances for detecting, preventing, monitoring, treating,

alleviating illness, injury or disability)

9. Monitoring and control instruments

(Smoke detector; heating regulators; thermostats; measuring, weighing or adjusting

appliances for household or as laboratory equipment; other monitoring and control

instruments used in industrial installations (eg. In control panels)

10. Automatic dispensers

(Automatic dispensers for hot drinks; automatic dispensers for hot or cold bottles or

cans; automatic dispensers for solid products; automatic dispensers for money; all

appliances which deliver automatically all kind of products)

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