UK WEEE regulations are lawful, says High Court

WEEE laws aim to address the problem of electrical waste

The High Court has ruled that the UK regulations on recycling electrical waste are consistent with the original EU directive, despite claims to the contrary.

The EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive provides a framework for regulations which member states then must translate into their own laws.

But Repic – a producer compliance body formed by leading electrical goods manufacturers - brought a Judicial Review in the High Court in June against the Department for Business and the Environment Agency claiming that there are systemic flaws in the regulatory regime that allowing some recycling operators to profit at the expense of others.

The firm claimed that over-collection of redundant goods by some recycling firms – mainly through civic amenity site contracts - meant that others were left facing enforcement action by regulators for not hitting collection targets.

To escape the threat recycling firms have been forced to purchase "evidence notes" from other firms proving that clean-up obligations have been met.

But Mr Justice Wyn Williams concluded on Friday that the trade in evidence notes was not illegal.

"There is no express provision within the regulations which prevents a producer compliance scheme from purchasing evidence notes; indeed producer compliance schemes are permitted to purchase such notes from the department." he said.

"I do not think that the sale and purchase of evidence notes necessarily infringes the provisions of the WEEE Directive."

In his ruling against Repic, Mr Justice Williams recognised that there was inevitably a “settling down” period since introduction of the regulations in 2007 and that the regulations represented a lawful transposition of the EU WEEE Directive into national law.

Business minister Ian Lucas welcomed the ruling.

“Today’s ruling is a resounding endorsement of the UK Waste Electrical and Electronic Regulations. We are recycling more electrical equipment than ever before which is a testimony to the system," he said.

"The UK system has made a successful start with the UK recycling the equivalent of roughly 7kg per head of population last year, far in excess of the 4kg requirement set by the European Commission."

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills launched a consultation in December 2008 for amended WEEE regulations to be effective from 1 January 2010, intended to reduce the administrative burden on firms.