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DTI appoints VCA as the distributor enforcement body for the WEEE regulations

DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY News Release (Reference P/2007/97) issued by The Government News Network on 18 May 2007

The Science and Innovation Minister, Malcolm Wicks, today announced the appointment of the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) as the enforcement body for the distributor obligations under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations.

Mr Wicks said:

"This agency has an important role to play in ensuring that distributors comply with their obligations under the WEEE Regulations. Free-riding will not be tolerated, and a robust process will be in place to serve notice and ultimately prosecute distributors who are unwilling to become compliant.

"From 1 July, this agency will also make sure that retailers and distributors of electrical equipment play their part in helping household users dispose of WEEE at the end of life, as well as market surveillance and inspections. "

From 1 July, distributors of electrical and electronic equipment will have to provide facilities for their customers to return old electrical equipment free of charge when they buy a replacement item. Distributors, including distance sellers, have two options:

1. They can either join the Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS) which supports a network of primarily local authority collection points where customers can return their waste electricals.

2. Or they can allow customers to bring goods back to the store.

Whether members of the DTS or providing takeback in store, distributors also have to make information available to consumers on how they can dispose of WEEE and the environmental benefits of doing so.

Notes to editors

1. The WEEE Directive aims to address the environmental impact of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and to promote its separate collection when it becomes waste (WEEE). WEEE is a priority waste stream for the EU because of its growing volume in the municipal waste stream and its potential hazardousness following disposal.

2. The Directive introduces producer responsibility for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Producers will have to finance treatment and recycling/recovery of separately collected WEEE in the UK to specified treatment standards and recycling/recovery targets. Retailers have an obligation to offer take-back services to householders. The Directive does not place any obligations on householders, and they will be not be prohibited from throwing WEEE away with general domestic rubbish. It will however encourage more WEEE to be reused or recycled by ensuring that there is a network of facilities in place where householders can return their used equipment free of charge.

3. VCA, an executive agency of the Department for Transport, is the United Kingdom's national approval authority for new road vehicles, agricultural tractors and off-road vehicles. In addition, VCA offer management system certification and training services against the requirements of ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001, QS-9000, ISO/TS 16949, EMAS and OHSAS 18001. As an executive agency of the UK Department for Transport, VCA is closely linked with Government and European policy formulation and the enforcement of vehicle safety and environmental standards.

4. VCA provide expert international testing, training and certification services for vehicles, their systems and components. Type Approval is the testing and certification process applied throughout all the European Member States to ensure that a range of safety and environmental standards are met by both vehicle and component manufacturers before their products can enter into the market place.

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