Recolight welcomes the WEEE consultation responses – press release for the lighting industry

Recolight welcomes the strong support for reform of the UK WEEE system seen in the summary of responses to the WEEE consultation which was announced last week.

The document released by the Department for Business Innovation & Skills is a summary of the responses to the consultation which closed earlier in the year.

The consultation, which received 256 responses and contained 23 questions, gave all those involved in WEEE a chance to voice their opinions on a number of key issues including changing the current household WEEE system. The consultation asked some important questions for the lighting sector, in particular the proposal for putting LEDs and GDLs in the same WEEE category.

Nigel Harvey, CEO of Recolight said: “The strong levels of support for changing the WEEE system give the Government a powerful mandate. Out of the four options put forward by the Government, option 4 obtained the most support, ranked first by 49% of respondents.  Furthermore, 95% of respondents gave option 3 as either their first or second choice.

“Producers, who made up over half of all respondents, support options 3 and 4 because they remove the “must buy” market for WEEE evidence which is a cause of excessive costs in the current system, and because both options introduce a clear audit trail for WEEE treatment.

“I am very pleased that 84% of respondents supported the Government’s proposal to include LED and Gas Discharge Lamps in the same category.  This proposal will benefit the lighting industry and its customers, by avoiding the risk of an unfunded fluorescent lamp waste stream.”

“I am delighted that a significant number of Recolight members responded to the Government’s consultation.  The voice of the lighting industry has had a big impact on the outcome.”

The Government is set to announce its formal response in the coming weeks which is expected to come into effect at the start of 2014.