Television: Digital Switchover

House of Lords written question – answered at on 13 December 2006.

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Photo of Baroness Young of Hornsey Baroness Young of Hornsey Crossbench

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What plans they have for the environmentally friendly disposal of analogue television sets in advance of the switchover to digital in 2008.

Photo of Lord Rooker Lord Rooker Minister of State (Sustainable Farming and Food), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) (Sustainable Farming and Food), The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office, Deputy Leader of the House of Lords

Digital switchover does not require the disposal of any equipment. However, as the regulatory impact assessment (RIA) acknowledges, there may be a temporary acceleration in the disposal of some secondary television sets that people choose not to adapt after switchover. The RIA is available at: www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk/pdf_documents/consultations/ria_timingof_ds2.pdf.

In the light of this, Defra and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) jointly commissioned the market transformation programme to establish and quantify any changes in patterns of disposal of consumer equipment, including televisions, due to digital switchover. The report is expected to be published in early 2007.

Television sets disposed of following digital switchover will be subject to regulations implementing the EU waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive. It aims to prevent electronic and electrical waste and promote reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery in order to reduce the amount of such waste going to landfill. The directive requires producers, or those acting on their behalf, to set up systems for treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE.

Transposition of the majority of the WEEE directive is the responsibility of the DTI. However, Defra will be making regulations amending the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 to transpose the treatment-permitting requirements of Article 6 of the directive. Defra also intends to introduce exemptions from the need to obtain a waste management licence, including for those storing WEEE prior to its recovery and those repairing WEEE to promote its reuse. These regulations will help to ensure that less WEEE ends up in landfill and more of it is either reused or recycled in an environmentally sound manner.

The DTI has completed its consultation on the draft regulations and accompanying guidance, and aims for them to come into force in early January 2007, with producer responsibility coming into force in July. The Defra regulations will be made shortly thereafter.

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