From 1 January 2016 the new UK interpretation of printer cartridges under the WEEE regulations fell into line with the European interpretation.
This means that printer cartridges are now in scope. Any company who imported, manufactured or rebranded these products is now required to register and report these to a scheme on a quarterly basis.
Increased recycling of printer cartridges
This announcement came from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) following industry consultation that we participated in last year, looking at how collection systems can be developed to encourage the increased recycling of printer cartridges. In a letter from the WEEE team at BIS, the government department said:
- Producers who will be placing printer cartridges on the UK market during the 2016 compliance period will need to register as an EEE producer.
- Producers will need to report on a quarterly basis during 2016 the tonnages of printer cartridges placed on the UK market.
- Data collected during 2016 will feed into determining the targets for 2017 and as such the financial obligations for the collection, treatment and recovery of printer cartridges will arise for producers during the 2017 compliance period.
Q1 2016 WEEE returns
At this time when companies are calculating their Q1 2016 returns, these products should now be considered as part of the data returns to the scheme. As printer cartridges are part of printers, then it is likely these should fall under Category 3 IT & Telecoms equipment.
If you require any further information, or think you would benefit from internal scoping advice from our technical specialists, please contact our team on 0845 094 2228 or email WEEE@ecosurety.com
Robbie Staniforth
Innovation and policy director
Robbie is innovation and policy director at Ecosurety. Having spent years building an intimate understanding of the industry’s policies and politics, he uses this knowledge to help shape new legislation and oversees Ecosurety’s growing portfolio of cross-industry innovation projects including Podback and the Flexible Plastic Fund. He has worked closely with Defra during the most recent packaging consultations, outlining the impacts and required transitional arrangements of the UK’s new EPR system and is a member of the government’s Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP). He is also a spokesperson for the company and regularly uses his influence to communicate the importance of environmental responsibility to external stakeholders.
Useful links
The UK Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations require companies to take responsibility for reducing the environmental impact of electrical items they place on to the UK market, when the products reach the end of their lives.
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