In
a recent 23 question government consultation, public support was given to the
changes proposed to the UK’s lamp recycling regulations. The changes aim to
make recycling of lighting and electrical goods cheaper and fairer.
Within
the 256 responses, overwhelming support was shown for measures intending to fix
the loophole in the current WEEE system. The system at present allows middlemen
to make huge profits at the expense of producers. The government presented four
options to fix these flaws; one proposed option backed by half of the
respondents was to match up recycling schemes with individual waste collection
facilities.
Many
LED products being sold today are used to replace gas discharge lamps, which
then have to be recycled. Because of this, 84% of respondents showed support
for the proposal to bring LED’s into the same WEEE category as gas discharge
lamps.
In
order to comply with the new European WEEE Directive, the UK regulations are
being updated. The soon to be finalised revised regulations will address lamp
recyclers and manufacturers concerns about the costs associated with the
system.
Nigel
Harvey, CEO of lamp recycling scheme Recolight, believes: “The strong levels of
support for changing the WEEE system give the government a powerful mandate.
This proposal will benefit the lighting industry and its customers, by avoiding
the risk of an unfunded fluorescent lamp waste stream.”
It
is believed these new regulations with come into effect at the start of 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment