DELIVERING THE LIGHTING INDUSTRY’S SOLUTIONS TO THE WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT LEGISLATION (WEEE)

Created for INDUSTRY by INDUSTRY

The Service Offered

THE SERVICE OFFERED

(Click here or on the icon to see our 'at a glance' guide to the Lumicom WEEE recycling service)

The Lumicom producer compliance scheme specialises in taking care of the legal obligations in respect of B2B lighting equipment. However, Lumicom will register producers that place other B2B electrical and electronic equipment on the UK market, eg electrical wholesalers' own brands.

The following guidance is specific to lighting but is also true for B2B WEEE in general.

A list of Lumicom scheme members can be found on this website.

A producer and therefore his scheme is responsible for discarded lighting equipment as follows:

If the luminaires were installed before 13 August 2005 then the producer who is supplying the replacement products is responsible
If the waste luminaires are not being replaced then the end-user is responsible
If the discarded luminaire was sold on or after 13 August 2005 then the producer who originally supplied it is responsible
If the producer cannot be traced the end-user is responsible

Producers are obliged to mark their equipment so that users can easily identify which producer (if any) is responsible when it comes to disposal.

These different responsibilities can make the process of dealing with the discarded luminaires complex and bureaucratic. In an effort to counter this, whilst at the same time meeting its obligations to act in the best interests of its producer members, Lumicom has developed an interactive website that:

Assists enquirers in determining who is responsible for the discarded luminaires
Enables the enquirer to ask Lumicom to manage the disposal on its behalf, where the responsibility does not rest with a Lumicom producer member. In such instances the enquirer will need to pay in advance (against a quotation). NB: This is a service that Lumicom supplies on request to users and is not part of its WEEE services to producer members.
Where the interactive enquiry indicates that a producer member of Lumicom is responsible, then proof of purchase is required, which provides a relatively simple mechanism for showing that the discarded luminaires concerned are the responsibility of the Lumicom producer member, rather than, for example, physically checking products.

It is important for all parties in the supply chain that an efficient process in terms of costs and environmental impact is organised, otherwise supply chain costs will be higher than necessary and any environmental benefit will be reduced by, for example, excessive lorry journeys. To reflect this Lumicom has put in place the following basic service package:

Where sufficient volume is involved, Lumicom, via its contractors, will place on the site a 40 cu yard skip for up to 14 days for filling. The skip will then be transported to an authorised treatment facility and the waste treated in accordance with the Regulations and evidence provided to that effect. Lumicom finances the costs.
Where the volume is less than this, Lumicom will provide the enquirer with authorisation paperwork, which will allow them to access our contractor's collection points to deposit the waste products. Lumicom will meet all subsequent costs of treatment and reporting.

Customised solutions can also be discussed in exceptional situations.