Waste Management (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations 2005
S.I. No. 340 of 2005
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 7, 18, 19, 27, 28, 29, 34, 39, 53G, 53I, 53J, 53K, 53L, 53M, and 62 of the Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2005 and section 53 of the Environmental Protection Agency Acts 1992 and 2003, and following consultation with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment hereby makes the following Regulations:
These Regulations may be cited as the Waste Management (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations 2005.
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Purpose of Regulations
The purposes for which these Regulations are made include the purpose of giving effect to provisions of European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/96/EC1 on waste electrical and electronic equipment as amended by European Parliament and Council Directive 2003/108/EC2 of 8 December 2003 amending Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment.
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Interpretation of Regulations
(1)
In these Regulations, any reference to a Schedule or article that is not otherwise identified is a reference to a Schedule or article of these Regulations.
(2)
In these Regulations, any reference to a sub-article or paragraph that is not otherwise identified is a reference to the sub-article or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs.
(3)
In these Regulations, save where the context otherwise requires -
“the Act” means the Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2005;
“the Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2005” mean the Waste Management Act 1996 (No. 10 of 1996) as amended by the Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001 (No. 36 of 2001), Part 3 of the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 (No. 27 of 2003) and the Waste Management (Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations 2005 ( S.I. No. 290 of 2005 );
“the Environmental Protection Agency Acts 1992 and 2003” means the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (No. 7 of 1992) as amended by Part 2 of the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 (No. 27 of 2003);
“the Agency” means the Environmental Protection Agency established under section 19 of the Environmental Protection Agency Acts 1992 and 2003;
“all reasonable times” means all times when members of the public have access to a place where electrical and electronic equipment is distributed;
“approved body” means an appropriate body corporate approved by the Minister in accordance with the provisions of Regulations made under section 53I of the Act;
“blocked bank account” means a deposit account or accounts, whose sole purpose is to provide financial resources for the environmentally sound management of waste electrical and electronic equipment, lodged with an undertaking or undertakings holding a valid banking licence issued in accordance with the provisions of the Central Bank Act 1971 (No. 24 of 1971);
“captive insurer” means an insurance company the purpose of which is to provide insurance cover exclusively to the risks of the undertaking or undertakings to which it belongs or of an undertaking or undertakings of the group of which the captive insurance undertaking makes part;
“civic amenity facility” means a purpose-designed facility operated by or on behalf of a local authority or a private sector operator which is provided for the efficient reception and temporary storage of recyclable and non-recyclable waste materials, including segregated waste electrical and electronic equipment arising from private households;
“collection point” means -
(i)
a civic amenity facility, or
(ii)
other facility for the receipt, storage or recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment
subject to such a facility being appropriately licensed, permitted or registered under Regulations made pursuant to Section 39 of the Act, or other such facilities as may be prescribed in Regulations;
“dangerous substance or preparation” means any substance or preparation which has to be considered dangerous under Council Directive 67/548/EEC3 or, as appropriate, Directive 1999/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council4 ;
“the Directive” means European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/96/EC of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic equipment and shall be read in accordance with European Parliament and Council Directive 2003/108/EC of 8 December 2003 amending Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment;
“distance communication” is as defined in Article 2(4) of Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts5 or, as appropriate, means sales and marketing services by electronic communication, voice telephony services, including telesales and telemarketing or non-electronic direct marketing services, including mail order;
“distributed” means
(i)
sold in exchange for any consideration including money whether or not by finance agreement, including but not exclusive to any loan, lease, hiring or deferred sale agreement or arrangement relating to any electrical and electronic equipment whether or not the terms of that agreement or arrangement or any collateral agreement or arrangement provide that a transfer of ownership of that equipment will or may take place, or
(ii)
giving as a prize or otherwise making a gift;
“distributor” means any person who provides electrical and electronic equipment on a commercial basis to the party who is going to use it;
“electrical and electronic equipment” means equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly and equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields falling under the categories set out in Annex IA of European Parliament and Council Directive 2002 96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment and designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1,000 volt for alternating current and 1,500 volt for direct current;
“environmental management costs” means the costs of the environmentally sound management of waste electrical and electronic equipment from private households arising from electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market prior to 13 August 2005;
“environmentally sound management of waste electrical and electronic equipment” means the collection, storage, treatment and recovery or, as appropriate, disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment in an environmentally sound manner;
“EURIBOR rate” means the Euro Interbank Offered Rate;
“final user” means any person who discards electrical and electronic equipment, for which they have no further use or, as appropriate, who intends to or is required to discard it, but shall not include any person who on behalf of or as a service to any other person -
(i)
buys, sells or arranges for the purchase, sale or transfer of waste from one person to another, or
(ii)
arranges for the collection, recovery or disposal of waste;
“finance agreement” means any loan, lease, hiring or deferred sale agreement or arrangement relating to any equipment whether or not the terms of that agreement or arrangement or any collateral agreement or arrangement provide that a transfer of ownership of that equipment will or may take place;
“financing the environmentally sound management of waste electrical and electronic equipment” means the cost of collection from collection points, together with the treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment, including where appropriate the provision of receptacles to facilitate the segregation of waste electrical and electronic equipment at collection points and associated operational costs;
“the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government;
“producer” means any person who, irrespective of the selling technique used, including by means of distance communication -
(i)
manufactures and sells electrical and electronic equipment under his or her own brand,
(ii)
resells electrical and electronic equipment produced by other suppliers under his or her own brand,
(iii)
imports electrical and electronic equipment on a professional basis into the State,
(iv)
exports electrical and electronic equipment on a professional basis from the State to another Member State of the European Union, or
(v)
distributes electrical and electronic equipment from a producer who is deemed not to be registered under the provisions of article 12(2),
with the exception of a person or persons exclusively engaged in the provision of financing under or pursuant to any finance agreement unless also acting as a producer within the meaning of sub-paragraphs (i) to (v);
“producer recycling fund” has the same meaning as “environmental management costs”;
“recovery” means any of the applicable operations provided for in Annex IIB to Directive 75/442/EEC6 ;
“recovery facility” means a facility for the deposit, refurbishment, treatment, recycling or recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment;
“recycling” means the reprocessing in a production process of the waste materials for the original purpose or for other purposes, but excluding energy recovery which means the use of combustible waste as a means of generating energy through direct incineration with or without other waste but with recovery of the heat;
“registration body” means the person, association or body corporate to whom approval is granted in accordance with Regulations made under section 53J of the Act;
“reuse” means any operation by which waste electrical and electronic equipment or components thereof are used for the same purpose for which they were conceived, including the continued use of the equipment or components thereof which are returned to collection points, distributors, recyclers or manufacturers;
“the RoHS Directive” means European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment7 ;
“third countries” means countries or territories outside the geographical territory of the European Union;
“treatment” means any activity after the waste electrical and electronic equipment has been handed over to a facility for de-pollution, disassembly, shredding, recovery or preparation for disposal and any other operation carried out for the recovery or, as appropriate, the disposal of the waste electrical and electronic equipment;
“waste electrical and electronic equipment” means electrical and electronic equipment, which is waste within the meaning of article 1(a) of Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste, including all components, subassemblies and consumables which are part of the product at the time of discarding;
“waste electrical and electronic equipment from private households” means waste electrical and electronic equipment which comes from private households, and from commercial, industrial, institutional and other sources which, because of its nature and quantity, is similar to that from private households.
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Scope of Regulations
(1)
These Regulations, save where the context otherwise requires, shall apply -
(a)
to electrical and electronic equipment falling under the categories set out in the First Schedule provided that the equipment concerned is not part of another type of equipment that does not fall within the scope of the Directive, and
(b)
without prejudice to Community Acts on -
(i)
safety and health requirements, and
(ii)
waste management legislation.
(2)
Without prejudice to sub-article (1)(a), the -
(a)
paragraphs numbered 1 to 10 of the Second Schedule shall be taken into account when determining the category set out in the First Schedule into which each type of electrical and electronic equipment falls, and
(b)
exclusion of a type of electrical and electronic equipment in the Second Schedule should not be taken as meaning that such equipment does not fall within the scope of these Regulations.
(3)
Without prejudice to sub-article (1), these Regulations shall not apply to electrical and electronic equipment which is connected with the protection of the essential interests of the security of any Member State of the European Union including arms, munitions and war material, except which is not intended for specifically military purposes.
The Minister may undertake, or approve a person or persons, or association, or body corporate to undertake, any or all of the functions provided for in article 8 for the purposes of this Part.
(2)
Any person or persons, or association, or body corporate who undertakes all of the functions provided for in article 8 shall be known for the purposes of these Regulations as the `registration body'.
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Grant or refused of approval
(1)
Subject to sub-article (3), the Minister may, by notice in writing, grant approval or may refuse to grant such approval.
(2)
An approval issued in accordance with sub-article (1) shall be conditional on the submission of -
(a)
where appropriate, a copy of the -
(i)
articles of association of the body corporate, or
(ii)
memorandum of association or registered rules of the association or society, and
(iii)
the appropriate certificate issued by the Companies Registration Office or the Registrar of Friendly Societies.
(b)
the names and addresses in the State of the officers of the registration body and its board of directors,
(c)
the address of the registration body's registered office and the address of the secretary, if different from the registered office,
(d)
a business plan in relation to the operation of the registration body,
(e)
where appropriate, proposals in relation to corporate governance,
(f)
proposals for the certification of producers for the purpose of article 12,
(g)
proposals for determining the proportion of market share held by individual producers,
(h)
proposals for registration fee structures,
(i)
proposals for verifying the adequacy of financial guarantees,
(j)
proposals for retaining information submitted in relation to environmental management costs, and
(k)
such other information as may be specified in writing by the Minister for the purposes of this article.
(3)
An approval in accordance with the provisions of sub-article (1) shall be subject to such conditions as the Minister may specify, including but not exclusively -
(a)
the period of approval which shall be for a period of not more than 10 years,
(b)
variance in the terms and conditions of approval,
(c)
revocation of approval, and
(d)
the nature of information (including financial accounts) to be recorded and maintained by the body concerned.
(4)
The Minister may, by notice in writing, from time to time vary any condition attached to an approval granted in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(5)
The registration body -
(a)
will be responsible for the effective carrying out of its functions, and
(b)
shall ensure that its financial costs are borne from its own resources.
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Review and revocation of approval
(1)
Subject to sub-article (2), where considered necessary, the Minister may review an approval granted in accordance with the provisions of article 6.
(2)
Where the Minister proposes to review an approval, the Minister shall -
(a)
give notice in writing to the registration body of the proposal and the reasons therefor,
(b)
specify a period of not less than four weeks within which the registration body may make a submission to the Minister in relation to a review, and
(c)
consider any submission so made.
(3)
Following the consideration of any submission in accordance with sub-article (2), the Minister may issue a revised approval, varying any condition attaching to the approval or attach any additional conditions which he or she considers appropriate.
(4)
Where an approval, granted in accordance with the provisions of article 6 is due to expire, the registration body -
(a)
shall not later than six months before the expiry of the approval, notify the Minister whether or not it intends to continue or cease operating as the registration body, or
(b)
if intending to continue to operate as the registration body, shall not later than two months before the expiry of the approval, make a submission to the Minister in accordance with the provisions of said article.
(5)
Subject to sub-article (6), where it appears to the Minister that the registration body is not complying with conditions attached to such approval, he or she may revoke an approval granted in accordance with the provisions of article 6.
(6)
Where the Minister proposes to revoke an approval granted in accordance with the provisions of article 6, the Minister shall -
(a)
give notice in writing to the registration body of the proposed decision and the reasons therefor,
(b)
specify a period of not less than four weeks within which the registration body may make a submission to the Minister in relation to the proposed decision, and
(c)
consider any submission so made.
(7)
Once an approval in accordance with the provisions of article 6 -
(a)
is revoked by the Minister, or
(b)
expires,
the registration body and any third party contracted to undertake any or all of the functions allotted to it, shall immediately transfer to the Minister, or to the person or persons, or association, or body corporate who is in receipt of the next approval to act as the registration body for the purposes of this Part, all records, documentation and data in written and in electronic form, including the requisite software and programmes, together with any funds and assets that were obtained on account of the functions provided for in article 8 and powers that were vested in accordance with the provisions of article 9.
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Functions of the Registration Body
(1)
On a date not later than 13 July 2005, the registration body shall cause to be established and maintained a register (hereafter in this Part referred to as `the register') of producers placing electrical and electronic equipment on the market.
(2)
The registration body shall be required to -
(a)
provide for the maintenance of the register of all producers placing electrical and electronic equipment on the market,
(b)
provide for the determination of the proportion of market share held by each individual producer and notify him or her accordingly,
(c)
provide for the verification that each producer has adequate financial guarantees,
(d)
cause to be kept proper accounts of all income and expenditure of the registration body in each calendar year, or in the first two years of its operations the relevant part thereof, and of the sources of such income and the subject matter of such expenditure and of the property, credits and liabilities of the registration body,
(e)
in the first six months of each year, make a report to the Minister of its activities during the preceding calendar year, or in the first two years of its operations the relevant part thereof, which shall include a summary of all income and expenditure and balance sheet for that calendar year, or in the first two years of its operations the relevant part thereof, and audited accounts in respect of the calendar year, or in the first two years of its operations the relevant part thereof, prior to that,
(f)
provide such information regarding the operation of the registration body as the Minister may from time to time require, and
(g)
notify the relevant local authority or, as appropriate, the Agency where it is evident to the registration body that a producer has failed to comply with any provision or provisions of these Regulations and to provide all relevant information and data,
having regard to any conditions that the Minister may apply in approving the registration body in accordance with the provisions of article 6.
(3)
Without prejudice to sub-article (2) the registration body may, where appropriate, procure the services of a -
(a)
person or persons,
(b)
association or associations, or, as appropriate,
(c)
body corporate or bodies corporate,
to undertake any or all of the functions allotted to it.
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Powers of the Registration Body
(1)
In carrying out its functions, the registration body or, as appropriate, a third party acting on its behalf shall be empowered to -
(a)
determine applications for registration and to issue approvals or refusals in accordance with the provisions of article 12,
(b)
issue certificates of registration and registration numbers,
(c)
obtain a statement from the external auditors of any producer relating to financial information or, as appropriate, examine the records of any producer relating to -
(i)
the quantities, by weight or, as appropriate, by number of units, of waste electrical and electronic equipment arising from electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market by a producer,
(ii)
details of financial guarantees, and
(iii)
market data including the quantities, by weight or, as appropriate, by number of units, of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market by a producer,
(d)
receive annual subscriptions, or make charges (hereafter in this Part referred to as `the fees') to provide for the effective carrying out of its functions, and
(e)
set the level of the fees which it may review from time to time.
(2)
Without prejudice to sub-article (1), where any or all of the registration functions are sub-contracted to a third party, the powers laid down in sub-article (1)(c) shall transfer to the third party concerned.
(3)
Without prejudice to sub-article (2), a third party empowered to determine the total quantity of collected waste electrical and electronic equipment attributable to each individual producer, including the members of any approved body established in accordance with the provisions of Part IV of these Regulations, shall be prohibited from providing to any person or persons, including the contracting registration body, any information or data either verbally, in written or in electronic form -
(a)
concerning the quantity of collected waste electrical and electronic equipment attributable to, or, as appropriate,
(b)
that may be used to identify or, as appropriate, calculate the market share of,
any individual producer other than to the individual producer concerned.
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Obligation of producers to register with the Registration Body
(1)
On and from 20 July 2005, each producer that has placed or is about to place electrical and electronic equipment on the market shall be obliged to -
(a)
be registered with the registration body and declare to it or, as appropriate, a third party acting on its behalf that any electrical and electronic equipment that he or she has placed or will place on the market is marked in accordance with the provisions of article 27(1),
(b)
display the registration number issued to him or her in accordance with the provisions of article 12 on any invoice, credit note, dispatch and delivery docket issued to a distributor by him or her on or from 13 August 2005, and
(c)
pay the fees as may be determined by the registration body or, as appropriate, a third party acting on its behalf.
(2)
A producer who -
(a)
fails to comply with any of the provisions of sub-article (1),
(b)
who is deemed not to be registered in accordance with article 12(2) or, as appropriate,
(c)
is refused an application for renewal of registration in accordance with the provisions of article 12(4),
shall be prohibited from placing electrical and electronic equipment on the market.
