Recolight welcomes recommended recast of WEEE Regulations

Recolight has welcomed many of the recommendations made by Karl-Heinz Florenz MEP in his report to the European Parliament on the recast of the WEEE Directive. Florenz is the Rapporteur of the European Parliament’s Temporary Committee on Climate Change.

The report includes several key recommendations which, if implemented, will have a lasting effect on the collection of lamps, not just in the UK, but across Europe.

The recommendations include creating an individual recycling target just for the lamp industry.  This is something that Recolight has been actively lobbying for, at both UK and European levels. Nigel Harvey, Recolight Chief Executive explains; “Whilst we welcome proposals to have separate collection targets for the lamp industry, the rationale presented by the Rapporteur is on health and safety grounds. We have advised that the need for a specific target is more based on market growth and product life issues.

“Lamps often have a life span of six years or more, and the market is expanding rapidly following the progressive phase out of incandescent bulbs.  That means that a target based upon a high percentage of the previous years’ sales figures would be unrealistic, given that waste becoming available for recycling is more likely to result from sales six years previously, when the market was much smaller.“

Other recommendations include establishing European wide recycling standards and confirms the inclusion of LEDs amongst lighting WEEE.

Nigel Harvey continues: “Recolight has been actively lobbying in Brussels, and has made strong and consistent representations on behalf of the lamp industry to ensure that we get a recast directive that is right for UK lamp producers. We welcome many of the changes proposed by Karl-Heinz Florenz and are pleased that the report recognises that lamps need to be considered separately from ‘general’ WEEE.  We are continuing to work to ensure that the actual rate agreed is both appropriate and achievable for our industry.

Recolight also welcome the proposal that there should be no need for producers to take responsibility for kerbside collections.

The Rapporteur supports the principle of a European-wide definition of a producer.  Recolight do not support this suggestion which has the potential to create an administrative burden for lamp producers.

“The report is still to be discussed by the European Parliament and the EU Council, but it is a step towards setting more realistic and achievable targets for the lighting industry, and the waste disposal industry as a whole.”