Waste of Electronic and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

The Irish government implemented the WEEE Directive in August 2005.

There are 10 categories of WEEE but the IT industry is affected primarily by 2 categories:

• IT and telecommunications equipment i.e. servers, pc’s, laptops, monitors, printers, telephones etc
• Consumer equipment i.e. lcd tv’s, cameras, dvd’s, mp3’s etc

Importers of WEEE into the State are classified as “Producers” under the legislation. The practical implications of being classified as a producer include:

• must register with the national registration body, the WEEE Register Society; annual registration fees are between €250 and €2000 depending on turnover of WEEE
• must take responsibility for a monthly submission of data (classification, quantity, weight) to the WEEE Blackbox
• must join an approved compliance scheme; either WEEE Ireland or ERP; annual membership fees apply
• must pay monthly/quarterly fees relating to the data supplied to the WEEE Blackbox

Resellers/Retailers of WEEE are classified as “Distributors” under the legislation. The implications of being classified as a reseller/retailer/distributor are much less onerous than producers and include:

• must accept back WEEE from consumers free of charge on a one-to-one basis
• must register with their Local Authority (nominal fee) for authorisation to bring WEEE taken back from consumers to their local Civic Amenity Site; direct collection of WEEE taken back can be organised (providing there is a minimum of 4 pallets or equivalent in a single location)

Resellers/retailers/distributors must ensure that WEEE sold by them is imported or bought from producers registered with the WEEE Register Society. Otherwise they are considered under the legislation to be producers themselves and the legislation applies retrospectively.

The basic principal of the scheme is that registered Producers are financing the provision of recycling facilities for WEEE in Local Authority sites.

Memory Bank is registered as a producer with the WEEE Register Society and a list of registered producers can be accessed from their website: www.weeeregister.ie

Memory Bank is a member of the compliance scheme operated by WEEE Ireland. Detailed information on the WEEE legislation can be accessed from their website: www.weeeireland.ie

Disclaimer: the above information is intended as an informational overview of the legislation. Customers should take independent advice in relation to their circumstances and Memory Bank does not accept liability for any loss suffered from reliance on the above information.