Policy is never really something to get excited about but, good policies can have very positive impacts if they are thought through and implemented properly.
On July 1st the WEEE Directive or, Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment comes into force. I’ve just had a letter from our local lamp supplier detailing its effects on the consumer.
Put simply;
1. a 15 pence ‘weee’ levy will be charged on each lamp purchased.
2. this cost will be outlined separately on the invoice
3. lamps are meant to be taken by the purchaser/customer to a recycle ‘drop point’ as the 15p/lamp charge hasn’t been worked out to include transportation.
Our supplier has chosen to stand out from the crowd by offering a FREE lamp waste collection service. Now that’s positive!
This now means recycling costs per lamp have reduced from approximately 50p down to 15p. Progress indeed!
More information on the WEEE Directive from the RSA here
Please note: Your lamp retailer will make an extra charge to the consumer at some point within the lifecycle of the product, in order to recover recycling costs incurred as a result of the WEEE levy.
They will do this at the point of purchase or charge later for recycling. All retailers should make this clear to you the customer. If they haven’t ask them where they have made the charge; at POS or as part of their recycling service.
I think it’s a brilliant idea. We’re using our own in-house plant to recycle these tubes and pass them on for treatment to a specialist based in Thetford, Norfolk. We collect the tubes at the same time as collecting computer hardware and the processing results in a glass good enough to be re-used in the manufacturing cycle by Philips. Now that’s closed loop recycling for you!
Good for you. It all makes sense and yes, I think we will see more & more companies taking everything or at least several items at once from premises. Believe me this is what end users want as it takes the hassle out of recycling for them.