Obligations on the financing of business WEEE

The UK WEEE Regulations places obligations on producers selling to business customers, and on business end-users to take responsibility for the costs of collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE.

The business end-user is the last business holder of the equipment who takes the decision to discard it.

The regulations require that a producer that supplies new equipment to a business user to replace original equipment purchased before the commencement of the regulations must finance the costs of treatment, recovery and sound disposal of the replaced equipment (whether or not it supplied this original equipment). If the business user is not making a like-for-like replacement purchase then he/she is responsible for financing the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally responsible end disposal of any equipment discarded, if it bought the equipment prior to commencement to the regulations. All WEEE disposed of in this way will be required to be sent to an Authorised Treatment Facility. This recovery and recycling will need to be undertaken in line with an altered waste Duty of Care.

For waste resulting from new products sold after the commencement of the regulations there is an obligation for recovery and recycling is on the producer But the producer and the business user can freely negotiate to reach agreement on how to allocate the responsibility the future WEEE.

The regulations set a framework in which the allocation of responsibility for WEEE end-of-life management can become a factor in commercial transactions during the sale of electrical and electronic equipment in the future.

The regulations expect that the purchase of new equipment to replace equipment put on the market before the commencement of the regulations will require a like-for-like take back of old equipment fulfilling the same function.  A like-for-like purchase may imply replacement by approximately the same number of units.

Example

I buy office equipment for my business. What responsibilities will my company have for WEEE after commencement of the regulations?

For waste from equipment you purchased before commencement of the regulations, your company must take responsibility for financing its collection, treatment, recovery and recycling (sending to an authorised treatment facility) unless you are buying replacement products, in which case the producer supplying to you will have these responsibilities. This responsibility will be guided by a revised Duty of Care for waste management.

For equipment you buy after commencement of the regulations, your supplier will have to take responsibility for financing its collection, treatment, recovery and recycling (to the Directive's targets percentages), unless you negotiate alternative arrangements. This is a commercial matter between you and the supplier.

Summary

• The cost of financing business WEEE may fall upon the end user or the producer.
  
  
• Responsibility for recovery and recycling and associated costs can be allocated to producer or end-user by commercial contract.
  
  
• No financial guarantees are required in respect of business WEEE.