Friday, 6 December 2013

Public support for changes to the UK’s WEEE regulations…

In a recent 23 question government consultation, public support was given to the changes proposed to the UK’s lamp recycling regulations. The changes aim to make recycling of lighting and electrical goods cheaper and fairer.
Within the 256 responses, overwhelming support was shown for measures intending to fix the loophole in the current WEEE system. The system at present allows middlemen to make huge profits at the expense of producers. The government presented four options to fix these flaws; one proposed option backed by half of the respondents was to match up recycling schemes with individual waste collection facilities.
Many LED products being sold today are used to replace gas discharge lamps, which then have to be recycled. Because of this, 84% of respondents showed support for the proposal to bring LED’s into the same WEEE category as gas discharge lamps.
In order to comply with the new European WEEE Directive, the UK regulations are being updated. The soon to be finalised revised regulations will address lamp recyclers and manufacturers concerns about the costs associated with the system. 
Nigel Harvey, CEO of lamp recycling scheme Recolight, believes: “The strong levels of support for changing the WEEE system give the government a powerful mandate. This proposal will benefit the lighting industry and its customers, by avoiding the risk of an unfunded fluorescent lamp waste stream.”
It is believed these new regulations with come into effect at the start of 2014.

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