Discount Mobility Direct WEEE Compliance

As part of Discount Mobility Direct continued commitment to recycling and protecting the environment, Discount Mobility Direct has joined the Distributor Take Back Scheme (DTS). The DTS is a Government initiative designed to minimise the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) to landfill and to achieve high levels of collection of WEEE for environmentally sound treatment.

For more information about the Distributor Take Back Scheme (DTS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), as well as to find your local collection points please go to www.recycle-more.co.uk UK WEEE Regulations – The Distributor Take Back Scheme

The UK Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations (referred to hereafter as "the WEEE Regulations") define a "distributor" to mean "any person who provides electrical or electronic equipment on a commercial basis to the party who is going to use it", and the "distributor take back scheme" ("DTS") to mean "a distributor take back scheme approved by the Secretary of State under regulation 54"

The WEEE Regulations implement the majority of the provisions of the European Parliament and Council Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (2002/96/EC) ("the WEEE Directive") and the subsequent European Parliament and Council Directive 2003/108/EC that amended the WEEE Directive. The UK Government Guidance Notes (URN 07/781) support the WEEE Regulations.

Members of the Distributor Take Back Scheme – Exemption from in store take back

Regulation 35 of the WEEE Regulations states that "Where a distributor is a member of a distributor take back scheme, he shall be exempt from complying with the requirements of regulation 31 and 34(1) for the period during which his membership of that scheme subsists." All members of the DTS are therefore exempt from the requirement to "ensure that WEEE from private households can be returned to him free of charge and on a one-to-one basis" (regulation 31) or "maintain records of the number of units of WEEE from private households returned to him under that regulation" (Regulation 34(1))

As stated in the UK Government Guidance Notes paragraphs 83 and 84, "The DTS will develop a network of Designated Collection Facilities (DCF) to provide distributors with an alternative to in store take-back of WEEE. The Distributor Take-back Scheme will be funded by the distributor community". "The Secretary of State, in consultation with Ministers in Devolved Administrations, has appointed Valpak Retail WEEE Services through a competitive tender process to operate the Distributor Take-back Scheme for the first three compliance periods". Membership of the DTS is dependant on each retailer applying to join making a financial contribution toward the improvement of the UK's network of WEEE collection facilities. These facilities are predominantly based a Local Authority Civic Amenity sites.

Information

Regulation 33 states that "A distributor who supplies new EEE shall make information available to users of EEE in private households on -
a. the requirement on each Member State under Article 2 of the Directive to minimise the disposal of WEEE as unsorted municipal waste and to achieve a high level of collection of WEEE for treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal;
b. the collection and take back systems available to them;
c. their role in contributing to the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of WEEE under these Regulations;
d. the potential effects on the environment and human health as a result of the presence of hazardous substances in EEE;
e. the meaning of the crossed out wheeled bin symbol.

Regulation 54 (5) states that "a distributor shall be guilty of an offence if he contravenes or fails to comply with any requirements of regulation 33". To meet this obligation, DTS members have also contributed financially toward the establishment of a UK wide WEEE recycling website, www.recycle-more.co.uk. This website includes information about all aspects of the WEEE directive, and in particular the capability to find the location of local WEEE collection facilities (known as "Designated Collection Facilities" or "DCFs"). To find you local collection points please go to www.recycle-more.co.uk/banklocator