Code of Practice for the Collection of Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment from Designated Collection Facilities
March 2010
This Code of Practice replaces Code of Practice issued by the Department for
Trade and Industry in February 2007.
This Code of Practice (“the Code”) should be adopted by all Producer
Compliance Schemes (PCSs) and Designated Collection Facilities (DCFs)
operated by or on behalf of local authorities which have been approved by the
Secretary of State under Regulations 55 of The Waste Electrical and
Electronic Equipment Regulations 20061 (“the regulations”).
This Code of Practice should be read in conjunction with the WEEE
Regulations and Non-statutory Guidance Notes.
Purpose of the Code of Practice
This Code of Practice (the “Code”) is issued by the Secretary of State under
Regulation 57 of the regulations
The Code gives guidance on the relationships between PCS and DCF which
are controlled by local authorities or managed on their behalf by third parties
under PFI or other outsourcing agreements.
Operators of other approved DCFs (ie private organisations operating
commercial or charitable collection facilities) under the regulations are
encouraged to follow the Code as an example of good practice in
relationships with PCSs.
The Code outlines the key factors and minimum requirements for
relationships between PCS and DCF operators. These include
 The nature and content of service level agreements or other
contractual arrangements to ensure separate collection of WEEE at
DCF sites is maximised; and
 The respective roles and responsibilities of the parties involved.
The Code does not seek to prescribe the details of the agreements between
PCS and DCF operators and neither the Department for Business Innovation
and Skills or the Environment Agencies will enter into discussion on the
content of such agreements.
Nothing in the Code should prevent a PCS and DCF operator from putting in
place agreements which go beyond the minimum requirements outlined,
provided they observe the requirements of the Regulations.
1
As amended by The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment) Regulations 2007 and
2009.
The Code does not seek to modify or interpret any requirements of the
Regulations or other legislation.
The Code does not cover:
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Relationships between local authorities and distributors under the
Distributor Take-back Scheme;
Provision and funding for the upgrade or other modifications to Civic
Amenity sites;
The approval process for Civic Amenity sites to become DCFs;
Non-Household WEEE.
Local Authorities or their appointed third party contractors have sole
responsibility for the operation of DCFs, including site layout and associated
facilities.
Arrangements for the clearance of WEEE from DCF sites
DCF operators
For the purpose of this code a DCF operator is the organisation responsible
for the control of the DCF. It should however be noted that were a local
authority has placed the day to day running of a DCF in the hands of a third
party contractor, the local authority remains responsible for the successful
operation of the site for the purposes of the WEEE Regulations.
Third party contractors appointed by local authorities who also operate
approved authorised treatment facilities (AATFs) are not permitted under the
WEEE Regulations to insist WEEE arising at the DCF site should be
transported and treated at their facilities without the expressed agreement of
the PCS aligned to the DCF site. Equally, a DCF operator who is also an
AATF operator is not permitted under the regulations to transport and treat the
WEEE independently with the aim of selling the resulting evidence either via
the Settlement Centre or via private arrangements.
Service Level Agreements
The respective responsibilities of DCF operators, PCS and third party
organisations described below will form the basis of service level agreements
to ensure the separate collection of WEEE is maximised on DCF sites, whole
items of WEEE are identified and passed for refurbishment and reuse as
appropriate, and that WEEE is passed to Authorised Approved Treatment
Facilities (AATFs) for treatment in line with the requirements of the UK WEEE
Regulations.
There is nothing in this Code or the Regulations which would prevent a DCF
operator and a PCS reaching an agreement which goes beyond this
guidance, provided the principles and objectives of the WEEE Directive and
UK Regulations are fully observed and are in no way damaged by the actions
of one or more of the parties.
Responsibility of DCF operators
The DCF operator is responsible for:

Having in place an agreement with a PCS to clear separately collected
household WEEE returned to the site. This agreement should cover a
full compliance period and must be in place prior to the compliance
period beginning (ie 1 January and ending 31 December). DCF
operators are not permitted to change PCS operator clearing the DCF
site mid-compliance period. In exceptional circumstances where
problems have occurred between a DCF operator and a PCS the
process outlined in section XXX (Failure to Clear DCFs) should be
followed;
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Set aside sufficient space for the separation of household WEEE in line
with the categories stated in the site’s approval – this can be via
containers or other suitably defined areas to allow collection by the
PCS;

Provide access to members of the public to dispose of household
WEEE and provide appropriate signage to direct members of the public
disposing of household WEEE to the relevant area or container;

Ensure that all separately collected WEEE is assigned to the
appropriate container according to the collection categories under the
DCF approval (see annex 1);
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Make available to the PCS ALL separately collected household WEEE
received at the site. Ensuring all WEEE that has been discarded by
households at the site is separated from other waste streams and is
included in the UK WEEE system. There should be no diversion of
WEEE from the site to channels outside the UK WEEE system. This
includes “totting” or diversion for re-use which is not by agreement with
the PCS.
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Ensure systems are in place, in partnership with the PCS and third
party organisations (where necessary) to identify whole items of WEEE
suitable for refurbishment and reuse (see section XX Reuse);
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Give access to PCS or their appointed contractor to remove WEEE
from the DCF (in accordance with the agreements in place between the
PCS and the DCF site operator);
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Notify the BIS WEEE team of any changes in agreements with PCS;
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Notify BIS if the arrangement with the PCS is terminated and approval
is required to clear the site and make available the resulting evidence
to other PCSs via the Settlement Centre.
Changes in agreements between DCF operators and PCSs
There may be occasions when agreements between DCF operators and PCS
either change or are terminated by one of the parties. In the event of
collection arrangements from the DCF being disrupted, the DCF operator
must inform BIS immediately to request permission to arrange the collection
and treatment of WEEE arising on the site and to then sell the evidence via
the Settlement Centre.
Without permission from BIS the Settlement Centre account for the local
authority concerned will not be activated.
Responsibilities of the Producer Compliance Scheme
The Producer Compliance Scheme is responsible for:

Having in place agreements with DCF operators to clear DCF sites of
separately collected household WEEE;
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Ensure WEEE is collected and transported for treatment under the
Regulations;
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The provision of containers, transport costs from DCF to an appointed
AATF including the cost of transporting WEEE from outlying DCFs to a
central transfer point (for either onward transportation by the PCS or
collection by an appointed AATF), gate fees charged by the AATF and
Duty of Care documentation;
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Ensure systems are in place, in partnership with the DCF operator and
third party organisations as necessary, to identify whole items for
suitable for refurbishment and reuse (see section XX Reuse);
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Supplying data to the local authority (even if clearing the site on behalf
of another PCS):
o Total weight of WEEE collected at each DCF;
o The audit trail through to final recycling ie through the provision
of a list of facilities to be used by producer and recycling of
WEEE;
o The proportions of recycling and reuse for each DCF by weight
and WEEE stream
This information is required by local authorities to meet other statutory duties
relating to waste and recycling. The information should be provided monthly
within one calendar month following the month of calculation. Where possible
this information should be provided in an electronic format to be agreed with
the local authority concerned. Other information needed by local authorities
may be agreed locally.
Reuse (See section xx of the Non- Statutory Guidance for further guidance).
PCS and DCF operators are encouraged to develop relationships and
agreements with organisations specialising in refurbishment and reuse of
electrical and electronic equipment, either on a commercial or charitable
basis.
The Regulations allow for whole items of WEEE which have been identified as
suitable for refurbishment and reuse to be off set by PCS against their
obligations. For the whole items to be counted towards obligations the WEEE
must have evidence issued against it by an AATF and passed to a recognised
reuse organisation.
It is the responsibility of both the PCS and DCF operators to be satisfied that
such items are going to legitimate re-use organisations who have the
necessary capabilities and systems to test items, carry out or arrange
refurbishment (where necessary) and ensure reuse occurs.
Treatment of WEEE at DCFs
Operators of DCFs are not permitted to carry out any form of treatment of
WEEE on a DCF site unless the site has been awarded AATF status by the
appropriate environment agency and evidence is issued to the PCS as
required by the Regulations. Such activity includes any form of dismantling –
including the removal of cabling, components or parts of appliances such as
doors.
All WEEE at a DCF is waste and cannot be resold or reused without going
through a legitimate reuse organisation in conjunction and agreement with the
DCF operator, PCS and AATF who will issue evidence.
Failure to clear DCFs
In the event of a PCS failing to clear a DCF of WEEE in line with the
established agreement it is advised the following process should be followed:

Site staff should take up the issue directly with the PCS concerned to
ascertain the reason for the site not being cleared as agreed. Where
possible the problem should be resolved at this stage via agreement
between the two parties as to when the collections should be made;
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Failure to rectify the matter or if the agreement is not observed, the
DCF operator should seek agreement from BIS for the local authority’s
Settlement Centre account to be activated to allow the DCF operator to
arrange for resulting evidence from the clearing of the site to be made
available to other PCSs . BIS will need written confirmation of the PCS
concerned, the issue which has resulted in the breakdown of the
agreement, action which has been taken to resolve the issues and
details of any reoccurring problems. If BIS accept the liability to rest
with the PCS, BIS will make arrangements for the SC account to be
activated;
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Permission to have a Settlement Centre account activated will only be
granted to a DCF on a temporary basis. It will be expected that the
DCF will either seek to resolve the outstanding issues on a longer term
basis or to seek agreement with an alternative PCS.

Where a PCS is experiencing difficulties in gaining access to a DCF
site or has evidence that not all WEEE arising at the site is being made
available for collection by the PCS they should immediately inform BIS.
BIS will need a summary of the concern together with supporting
evidence. No action will be taken by BIS if the concerns raised are
based on suspicion as opposed to fact supported by evidence.
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If BIS deems the liability to rest with the DCF operator and action to
remedy the position is not taken, approval as a DCF may be removed
under Regulation 56.
Increasing separate collection of WEEE
During the 2010 compliance period BIS will be undertaking a review of DCF
site approvals to verify the capacity to increase separate collection across all
five categories.
Annex 1
Site Management Issues
DCF site operators have responsibility to maximise the separate collection of
WEEE in line with their approval. All WEEE that is brought by the public to a
DCF should be treated as waste and included in the UK WEEE system. No
activity on site should divert WEEE unless via legitimate reuse organisations
with the agreement of both the PCS and DCF operator and in conjunction with
an AATF to allow evidence of reuse to be issued.
As a minimum DCFs should set aside sufficient space for:
A Large Household Appliances
B Cooling Equipment
C All Display Equipment ie CRT, LCD and Plasma displays (including TVs
laptops and PC screens
D Gas Discharge Lamps
E All other WEEE
Sites therefore are required to accommodate containers of a size and type
appropriate for the site for C- E and hard standing or containers for A and B
Where this is not possible approval may be given for a DCF to collect fewer
streams provided:
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Evidence is available to demonstrate the restrictions for collecting
fewer waste streams – for example space restrictions;
All possible avenues have been explored to maximise the number of
streams to be collected on site – for example smaller containers,
reorganisation of the site or more frequent collections;
Sites able to receive other streams from the public are within a
reasonable distance in the local authority area and are accessible to all
on an equal basis.
In such cases as a minimum, DCFs must separately collect hazardous WEEE
in line with the Hazardous Waste Regulations and have a minimum of one
container for mixed WEEE. Where a site has capacity for further separation of
categories under the regulations this must be accommodated.
The operator of the DTS will work with the DCF operator to ensure an
adequate coverage for the separate collection of all WEEE categories within
geographical areas. The DTS will also discuss with DCF operators the
potential to increase the collection streams on individual sites under the DTS
approval for the 2010 – 2013 compliance periods.
In exceptional circumstances streams may be mixed on site provided C and D
remain separate and B can be readily identified for uplifting separately.
DCF operators must allow PCS to collect (or have collected on its behalf)
separately collected WEEE. The timetabling and frequency for collection is a
matter of negotiation between the relevant parties. BIS will not intervene in
such discussions.