Environment Agency Head of Waste Regulation Liz Parkes said:

“The UK is already making good progress on recycling large items of household WEEE. We strongly support the additional push that the WEEE Directive will give, particularly upstream with producers who will have to take responsibility for financing and arranging take back. But it is vital that the new controls achieve the right outcomes for the environment and help close some of the existing gaps that can lead to illegal export, for instance. We want this to be achieved in a way that doesn’t impose unnecessary regulatory burden on business or local authority.

“We believe it is prudent of Government to ensure it has the right systems and procedures in place for effective management of WEEE – business and household – through all sections of the disposal chain, before it introduces new regulations.

“We had geared up to register producers of WEEE in line with DTI’s previous proposals, but will put these plans on hold whilst we support Government on its policy review.

“We don’t think the delay is bad news for business or the environment – local authorities already have to manage separately collected hazardous WEEE responsibly and new treatment capacity is becoming available. Making sure that hazardous waste goes to the right place is a priority for us.”