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Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment: BBC Owned Equipment

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Common Questions

Key Points

New regulations have been introduced in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland governing the disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). From July 2007, the producers of electrical and electronic equipment become responsible for the 'take-back' and recovery of their products at end-of-life.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is categorised as follows:

WEEE consists of all equipment that requires an electric current (mains electricity or batteries) or electromagnetic field to fulfil its primary function. This includes peripherals (e.g. keyboards, mice, connecting cables) and fluorescent tubes (including energy saving bulbs and sodium lights). For further advice on what is covered, please contact Ask Al - Safety Advice Line.
Where a product contains electrical components, but these do not fulfil its primary function (e.g. a soft toy with a 'voice', where the primary function is a toy and it can function without the voice box) it is not classed as WEEE.
Exempt from the Regulations: Equipment rated above 1000v AC or 1500v DC, conventional (incandescent) bulbs, large-scale industrial tools, infected medical products or equipment intended for specific security or military purposes.

All BBC owned WEEE must:

Be segregated from the general waste stream.
Stored so it maintains the BBC's Duty of Care for waste; see the storage of waste guidance. WEEE is still categorised as hazardous waste and the hazardous waste regulations still apply.
Disposed via an appropriately registered waste carrier and taken to an Approved Authorised Treatment Facility (AATF) that is registered with the Environment Agency.

Guidance for Members of Staff:

Office based staff: you should contact your local facilities management helpdesk if you have any WEEE you wish to dispose.
Offsite production staff: you should return your BBC owned WEEE to your local BBC hub and contact your local facilities management helpdesk to arrange disposal [note: the local provider may charge for providing this service].
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment on lease from one of the BBC's service partners must be returned to that service partner, for disposal.

Guidance for buying Electronic and Electrical Equipment:

Some producers may include WEEE collection costs in the initial purchase price of their equipment. The BBC's corporately agreed position is it will pay for the disposal of its own WEEE and therefore the transport costs associated with take back should not be charged at the time of purchase.

The regulations also apply to the producers and distributors of Electrical and Electronic Equipment, who have certain responsibilities for the take-back of WEEE from consumers. Certain divisions of the BBC are obligated under this part of the regulations. Further guidance is available in the WEEE: Producer and Distributor Take-back Schemes section.