WEEE Directive

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive became law in member states of the European Union in 2007. The scheme places responsibility for the collection, treatment, recycling and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE on producers of electrical equipment, and intends to reduce the amount of end-of-life equipment going to landfill. A number of take-back schemes are in operation to process the WEEE, and Rapid is a member of WeeeCare.

All products covered by the legislation and manufactured and placed for sale after 1 January 2007 have to be labelled with the image of the ‘crossed out wheelie bin’. Customers replacing old equipment that is of an equivalent type to, and has performed the same function as the new product can return their WEEE to Rapid for safe disposal and recycling.

The WEEE directive has made a dramatic difference to the public profile and perception of electrical recycling, and to the volumes being recycled. In its first three years the UK recycled approximately 7kg of WEEE per person per year, 3kg more than the target set by the EU.

A number of amendments were made to the legislation in January 2010, to clarify the responsibilities of producers and treatment providers. More information about these changes can be found in the article elsewhere on this site, WEEE – Three Years On

Disposing of WEEE

Please contact the WeeeCare Helpline on 0844 800 2004 and quote Rapid membership number WEE/DJ0003ZR to start the process of disposing of your WEEE.