The WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive is one of a series of new rules to ensure that electrical goods retailers are doing their bit to help in delivering a UK WEEE collection infrastructure, and also to encourage consumers to recycle electrical goods. The WEEE regulations are European law and the UK is required to increase the amount of WEEE being treated and recovered.

WEEE is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK, growing by at least 5% each year and we dispose of over 1.2 million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste every year in the UK from the public alone. Where WEEE is not recycled, this waste can have negative impacts on soil, air and water quality which can lead to environmental damage, and which can also lead to negative impacts on human health and animal heath.

In order to ‘do our bit’ we at PetPlanet.co.uk have signed up to the Distributor Take Back Scheme to support the WEEE regulations. This means we have contributed to a national fund toward the development of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) collection facilities in the UK.

Currently, not all council sites are suitable to collect all types of waste electrical goods but to find out your nearest participating site (including other collection facilities that may not be operated by the council) and for advice on all aspects of recycling at home, please visit www.recycle-more.co.uk. Don’t forget to have your postcode ready to use in the ‘recycling facilities’ locator, which includes an easy to use interactive mapping system.

All electrical goods manufactured since August 2005 have been marked with the crossed out wheelie bin symbol (shown below) which has been designed to let customers know that those products are classed as WEEE when no longer needed and should be disposed of separately to household waste. To ensure your waste electrical or electronics don’t contribute to damaging the environment please visit use www.recycle-more.co.uk and recycle today.