Move had been slated for January 2016 but change is being pushed through immediately.
The Environment Agency has told WEEE reprocessors and producer compliance schemes to ensure that any dual use WEEE is now counted as ‘consumer WEEE’. This is in line with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills revised ruling on classifications.
Definitions of household and non-household WEEE were amended in October after the UK’s classification of household and business WEEE was found to be at odds with that held by the European Commission.
The difference centred on the interpretation of dual use WEEE, which includes items such as PCs or television screens, which could conceivably be used in business or by consumers. In the UK, the definition was also qualified by the quantity of WEEE being presented for collection.
The new definition is in line with that held by the European Commission and states that any WEEE of a similar nature to that presented to householders, regardless of how much is presented, should be classed as household WEEE.
BIS has said this will apply for producers placing new items on the market from Jan 2015, but in a note to schemes last week it said the ruling will be applied with immediate effect.
When the new definition applies from 2015, it is expected that producers who are currently placing new products onto the market classed as business EEE, but whose products could be deemed as dual use, would have to classify these products as B2C.

James Champ
Lead compliance data manager
Following a brief career in the legal industry, James joined the compliance team in August 2012, and since has undertaken a variety of roles in account management and scheme operations.
He now holds the role of Technical manager where he is responsible for ensuring Ecosurety and its members are compliant across the packaging, WEEE and batteries regulations. In addition, he also leads our technical service delivery team who support clients with various data projects and international compliance activities.

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Today, 27 March 2023, marks the 20th anniversary of Ecosurety. On this special occasion, we have asked its founder, Steve Clark, to take a trip down memory lane and share with us his story of setting up the business, what was driving him at the time and what he wishes for Ecosurety for the future.
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