What is Business to Business (B2B) and the requirement for compliance?

If you are deemed a Producer operating in a business capacity (B2B) (Article 17 & 18) and opting to self-comply*, you must do the following:

• Register with WEEE Register Society Ltd. in Ireland, pay the appropriate registration fee (Article 10) and provide information to the WEEE Register Society Ltd. (Article 28).
• Collect or provide for the collection of your proportion of WEEE arising from WEEE placed onto the market prior to 13th August 2005, which is dependent on your current market share. The market share target is provided by WEEE Register Society Ltd. Black Box Function.
• Ensure that any collection point and recovery facility carrying out the treatment of WEEE complies with the technical requirements as set out in the Sixth Schedule (Article 20).
• Adhere to the obligations for the treatment requirements of WEEE (Article 21).
• Achieve specified recovery rates depending upon the category and type of the WEEE arising (Article 22) and to maintain documentary evidence of progress on these targets. Producers can obtain this documentary evidence from their waste management contractors.
• Maintain and keep records of all treatment and recovery data, including specific weights in and out of treatment facilities, for a period of at least 6 years (Article 23).
• Prepare a WEEE waste management plan and provide it to the EPA, at least once every three years (Article 24).
• Prepare a WEEE waste management report and provide it to the EPA on/before 31st January each year.
• Producers are obliged to inform waste management facilities of the appropriate re-use and treatment information for the products it places on the market after August 13th 2005, including a list of dangerous substances and the location of such substances in each product (Articles 25 & 26).
• Producers are also obligated to mark their product with the appropriate marking identifying that the producer of the EEE has registered with the Registration Body in accordance with their terms and conditions (Article 27 & Ninth Schedule).
• Producers must not use design features or production processes that make it difficult to reuse or treat the WEEE unless such designs have overriding environmental and/or health and safety advantages (Article 40).
• Obligations under Article 41 on the Reuse of EEE.
• B2B Producers are obliged to finance the takeback of historic and new B2B WEEE (Articles 17 & 18). From the 13th August 2005, each producer (or someone acting on his/her behalf) must finance the environmentally sound management of WEEE arising from B2B customers as follows:
  
  i. For historic B2B WEEE (equipment placed on the market prior to the 13th August 2005 that is now waste), the producer is obliged to take back WEEE of a similar type and function (irrespective of brand) when a business end user is purchasing new equipment from him/her. The producer is then responsible for the collection and environmental management of the WEEE.
  
  If the business end user is simply discarding the WEEE and not replacing it, the responsibility for ensuring the environmentally sound management of the WEEE remains with the business end user. An appropriately licensed and permitted waste management operator must be used to transport and manage the waste in both scenarios.
  
  ii. For new WEEE (equipment placed on the market after the 13th August 2005 that will become waste), the producer must take back and manage WEEE from the business end user or make alternative financing arrangements with the business user i.e. there must be a formal agreement between both parties on how and who will finance the management of the WEEE. The WEEE must be transported and managed by appropriately licensed and permitted waste management operators.

*Note: As in B2B, i.e. - the end user is commercial, Article 24(10) regarding the display of visible environmental management costs via self-compliance does not apply.