In the second in our series, our resident ‘Fire Doctor’ David Brown gives you the lowdown on how fire system equipment is governed by regulations on the reuse, recycling and recovery of electrical and electronic equipment.

What is the WEEE Directive?
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive (2002/96/EC) is a piece of European legislation which came into force in January 2003, and has subsequently been transposed into law in the EU member states (e.g. the WEEE Regulations came into force in January 2007 in the UK).

As the name suggests, it aims to promote the reuse, recycling and recovery of electrical and electronic equipment and reduce its disposal.

Electrical and electronic waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK and around 1.8 million tonnes of it are generated every year.
 

Are the WEEE Directive and the RoHS Directive the same thing?
No, but they are closely related. The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive aims to minimise the use of certain hazardous materials in new electrical and electronic products. Producers must provide evidence that concentrations of hazardous materials in their products are below defined levels.

Therefore, the RoHS Directive limits the use of hazardous materials at the beginning of a product’s life, while the WEEE Directive deals with the reuse, recycling and recovery of electrical and electronic equipment at the end of it.
 

Do the products that form a fire detection system come under the jurisdiction of the WEEE Directive and, if so, how can I identify them?
They didn’t when the WEEE Directive was first introduced but they do now. Let me explain.

In 2006 the Fire Industry Association took the position that commercial fire detection products fell outside the scope of the Directive, as they could be classified as a fixed installation. However, in 2009 after discussion with UK regulators and related industries, the FIA reviewed its position about these types of products being a fixed installation and decided that they do fall within the scope of the Directive.

The WEEE legislation requires that all new electrical and electronic equipment must be marked with a crossed out wheelie bin symbol with a solid bar underneath, which denotes it should not be disposed of through the normal waste stream. These products are referred to as ‘future’ WEEE and the producer must pay for their disposal.

However, products manufactured before this date are known as ‘historic’ WEEE. If a job calls for a like-for-like replacement, the producer of the new product is responsible for the disposal of the old product, even if they didn’t make it.

How should I dispose of waste fire detection equipment?
Where electrical and electronic equipment is to be disposed of by the installer as part of a job, it is essential that an obligation to comply with the Directive is included in the tender or contract, and that the installer provides evidence that it has been disposed of correctly.

Producers (i.e. those companies which manufacture equipment for their own market, or import it or rebrand it) are legally required to be a member of a producer compliance scheme. So, by now, all producers ought to have signed up to a compliance scheme which takes on their responsibilities under the regulation.

If you have arranged to deal with disposal of equipment on behalf of your customer, you need to contact the producer which will then provide details of its compliance scheme operator. The compliance scheme proceeds in different ways in terms of managing the collection of equipment on behalf of their members.

It is then your responsibility to transport the waste equipment to the treatment facility, which will then log the equipment received against the reference. The manufacturer or distributor is subsequently charged for the appropriate processing.
 

The system I have been asked to replace includes ionisation detectors. How do I safely dispose of them?
The current interpretation of the law is that in this situation, the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 takes precedence over the WEEE Directive and then it is the responsibility of the end user to dispose of the products.
 

What are the penalties for failing to dispose of WEEE correctly?
Failure to comply with the WEEE Directive can result in a business being fined and individuals could even face imprisonment.

October 2010 saw the first UK prosecution of a producer and the coalition government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has committed itself to enforcing the penalties laid out in the Directive.

If you happen to find yourself in a situation where a producer of waste fire detection equipment refuses to take it back, contact the Environment Agency and it will investigate the reasons why the producer is not accepting the product(s) and take appropriate action.

The questions and answers are based on the WEEE Directive in the UK. The EU legislation has been implemented in different ways throughout the EU member states. David Brown is product manager at Hochiki Europe. Topics to be covered in future Fire Doctor columns include: Digital v Analogue Technologies; Centralised v Decentralised Intelligence; and Aspirating Detection Technology. If you have any questions on these topics, email: editorial@info4fire.com

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For further information from Hochiki tel: 01634 266566, or visit www.hochikieurope.com.