On the 2nd January 2007 the UK enacted the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive requiring all electrical products to be recycled at the end of their useful life. The regulations set rules for the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of electrical waste along with the paperwork required to prove compliance. The costs for this are to be financed by the Producer (the UK manufacturer or importer) and will result in a price increase on all electrical goods including Commercial Refrigeration.

The WEEE Directive applies to all plug-in integral commercial refrigeration; it does not apply to product that requires site assembly and installation.

When a buyer purchases a new cabinet, they can decide to take the responsibility to finance the future collection and disposal of the product or to buy with the Producer retaining that responsibility. We will give our customers this choice as part of the normal commercial negotiation. If the Producer retains the responsibility a charge will be incurred. However if the buyer takes on the responsibility they will need to take on the burden of the future disposal of the cabinet and for proving the disposal was undertaken in accordance with the Regulations.

In addition at the time of purchasing a new cabinet, the Buyer may ask the Supplier to take back a similar used cabinet (for example one that was bought before August 2005, “Historic WEEE” and is therefore not WEEE marked). In this case there will be a charge as shown below.
It is recommended that buyers take both Future and Historic WEEE costs into account when purchasing products.

To avoid WEEE being rejected on contamination grounds users should ensure that refrigeration products are left in a clean and empty state when the time comes to dispose of the product. To be safe, there should be no biological, chemical or physical agents which are foreign to the cabinet, inside the product.

Size                                   Future WEEE                      Historic WEEE with Delivery
1m x 1m x 1m                        £80                                                 £60
2m x 1m x 1m                        £90                                                 £70
2m to 3m                               £190                                               £155
3m to 4m                               £270                                               £220

Phoenix Retail Services is fully compliant with the Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. We are a Member of the B2B Compliance scheme, which will handle our WEEE obligations on our behalf. Our Producer Registration number is (pending).