Firemart & the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)

With effect from July 2007, the UK’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations require that all producers of electrical equipment are now obliged to pay for these items to be recycled when they become waste. Although we are mainly a fire safety equipment supplier, we do supply smoke alarms complete with batteries and these items come under the WEEE regulations.

These regulations also require that all retailers both actively assist in delivering a UK wide WEEE collection infrastructure and encourage the participation of consumers in recycling electronic equipment. So that you can get your waste electrical goods recycled, we have contributed towards a national fund to assist local councils to further develop their existing waste electronics collection facilities, which will in turn allow producers of this equipment to meet their obligations. To remind consumers to recycle, all electrical items sold now carry the ‘crossed out wheeled bin’ symbol.

Not all council sites are suitable to collect all types of waste electrical goods but to find out your nearest participating site (including other collection facilities that may not be operated by the council) and for advice on all aspects of recycling at home, please visit www.recycle-more.co.uk.

WEEE Distributor take Back Scheme: FireMart is registered as a member of the WEEE Distributor Take Back Scheme and further customer information is available through www.recycle-more.co.uk. Firemart’s registration number is 9068.

What does the crossed our wheelie bin symbol mean? This symbol should be displayed on all new electrical equipment that you purchase. When you see this symbol then you know that you should try and recycle and dispose of this product appropriately where possible.

Where to dispose of electrical equipment? Wherever practical, old electrical waste should not be disposed of with your household waste as electrical equipment can contain toxins that contaminate land and are dangerous for human health.

Firemart does not offer a take back service. However, recycling of your old waste has never been easier! You can locate your closest participating collection site at www.recycle-more.co.uk. Simply type in your postcode to find your nearest site!

Other information: UK households dispose of over 1.2 million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste every year. This is the equivalent of 150,000 double decker buses and would be enough to fill the new Wembley Stadium 6 times over.

Much of the UK’s electronic waste ends up in landfill sites, where toxins put communities at risk. Failure to segregate any type of recyclable material in the home will usually result in items being disposed of in a landfill site (buried in the ground in the UK) or being incinerated.

To remind you to recycle, all new electrical products are marked with a crossed out wheeled bin symbol.