Recycling unwanted electrical product is good for the environment. UK households dispose of over 1.2 million tonnes of electrical waste every year: this is enough to fill Wembley Stadium six times over!
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive is now UK law. The legislation aims to make producers pay for the collection, treatment and recovery of waste electrical equipment. The regulations also mean that retailers of equipment must allow consumers to return their waste equipment free of charge or join a distributor take back scheme in order to direct customers to a designated collection facility.
The amount of WEEE we throw away is increasing by around 5% each year, making it the fastest growing waste stream in the UK.
Much of the UK’s WEEE ends up in landfill, where the lead and other toxins it contains can cause soil and water contamination. This can have a harmful effect on natural habitat, wildlife and also human health.
Many electrical items that we throw away can be repaired or recycled. Recycling items helps to save our natural finite resources and also reduces the environment and health risks associated with sending electrical goods to landfill sites.
Under the WEEE Regulations, all new electrical goods should now be marked with the crossed-out wheelie bin symbol shown below:
Goods marked with this symbol to show that they were produced after 13th August 2005, and should be disposed of separately from normal household waste so that they can be recycled.
If your product has a crossed-out wheelie bin symbol it means that, when the product has reached the end of its useful life, it should not be thrown away with household waste, but taken to a recycle facility. Check with your Local Authority for details.
What are our obligations to internet customers?
ROBERTS Radio Ltd is obliged under the WEEE regulations to offer our internet customers free take-back of their WEEE on a like-for-like basis when they buy a new product direct from us.
For example if a customer purchases a new radio from us we would accept their old radio and prevent it going into a landfill site by disposing of it safely. Customers must return their WEEE item to us within 28 days of purchasing their new item to the following address:-
Internet Sales – WEEE Returns
Roberts Radio Ltd
Talbot
Road
Mexborough
South Yorkshire
S64 8AJ