James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Question 427: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if electronic cigarettes which are sold in shops and pharmacies are subject to the EU WEEE directive; if so, the steps his Department has made to ensure compliance with the directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39750/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The EU Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) required each Member State to introduce regulations providing for a producer funded take-back scheme for consumers of end-of-life equipment from 13 August 2005. To come within the scope of the WEEE Directive, items of electrical and electronic equipment must be:

dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly; and

designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1,000 volts for alternating current (AC) and 1,500 volts for direct current (DC).

Electronic cigarettes which are placed on the market come within the scope of the WEEE Directive. Under the terms of the WEEE Directive, financing the environmentally sound management, including recycling, of waste electrical and electronic equipment is solely a producer responsibility. Two collective compliance schemes, functioning under the responsibility of producers, are operating in Ireland. These compliance schemes, WEEE Ireland and the European Recycling Platform, are responsible for ensuring that all recovered household WEEE is managed in an environmentally sound manner and for putting in place tracking and auditing systems for materials recovery in line with the requirements of the Directive.

The compliance schemes are also responsible for the procurement of the environmentally sound management, including recycling, of all household WEEE deposited at designated collection points. These include civic amenity facilities and retail outlets. The compliance schemes report that circa 9kg per capita of household WEEE is being collected for recycling per annum; this is over double the prescribed 4kg target as set out in the WEEE Directive and indicates that Ireland has had significant success in implementing this Directive.

Retailers are required by law to take back WEEE free of charge on a one-for-one, like-for-like, basis from householders. Where a replacement product is bought over the counter, retailers must take back the old product in-store, either at the time of sale or within a maximum of 15 days of the date of sale. Where a replacement product is delivered, retailers must take back the old product, if ready for immediate collection, on completion of the delivery or within a maximum of 30 days of the date of delivery. Each local authority must also accept household WEEE free of charge at its civic amenity facilities. Retailers can have their premises designated as 'WEEE collection points' or deposit household WEEE free of charge at local authority civic amenity facilities. There are currently in excess of 600 'WEEE collection points' including both retail outlets and civic amenity facilities. Retailers are obliged to notify purchasers of these take back arrangements. Information on the WEEE take back system is available on my Department's web site - www.environ.ie.

The WEEE Monitoring Group, which is made up of representatives from relevant industry and public sector stakeholders, oversees the implementation and operation of the WEEE Directive in Ireland. Responsibility for enforcement rests with the Environmental Protection Agency and local authorities. My Department continues to work with relevant stakeholders through this Group to ensure that Ireland continues its strong track record of performance versus our EU targets for WEEE recovery and recycling.