Joe Turner Ref: FOI 1157

51 Upper Eastern Green Lane Date: 16/02/2010

Coventry
CV5 7DA

Dear Mr Turner,

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004 REQUEST FOR

INFORMATION

We refer to your request made on the 8 February 2010 and then later defined on
the 12 February 2010. We are now in a position to be able to answer your
questions for the following information:

1) The number of days Environment Agency staff have spent regulating the Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations, since 2007, in China &
India separately.

2) The number of sites in China and India which the Environment Agency has
visited in order to regulate the WEEE Regulations.

Requests for information that is recorded are generally governed by the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). The information you have requested is
environmental and it is therefore exempted from the provisions of FOIA by FOIA
s.39(1). We have therefore considered your request under the provisions of the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR). EIR regulation 12 allows a
public authority to refuse to disclose environmental information if an exception to
disclosure applies under paragraphs (4) or (5) and in all the circumstances of the
case, the public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest
in disclosing the information. A public authority shall apply a presumption in favour
of disclosure.

The Environment Agency is the enforcement body for the majority of the WEEE
Regulations 2009 as amended. One of our roles is to approve companies that
treat or export WEEE for recycling and or reuse. Companies seeking approval
need to ensure they have the appropriate permits and licenses before applying.
Part of our assessment of companies applying as Approved Exporters (AEs)
involves checks on the overseas sites they are exporting WEEE or materials from
WEEE to. The exporters need to supply evidence that the sites they are exporting
to operate to standards that are equivalent to the European Union. This may be
achieved by a letter from the competent authority or licence/ permit demonstrating
that the company is being regulated under an environmental regime.

Environment Agency, Quadrant 2, 99 Parkway Avenue, Sheffield. S9 4WF

Telephone: 08708 506 506
Email: weee@environment-agency.gov.uk
www.environment-agency.gov.uk
In answer to your questions the Agency has not spent any time or undertaken any
site visits within China and India to regulate the WEEE Regulations. It is important
to note that the WEEE Regulations provide a system to encourage the recycling
of WEEE whereby AEs and Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities (AATFs)
can issue evidence on the WEEE that they recover. There are other regulations
which companies who handle WEEE need to ensure they are complying with,
such as Controlled Waste, Environmental Permitting & Transfrontier Shipment
Regulations. Our response has only taken into account the WEEE Regulations
2009 as requested in your email dated 12 February 2010.

Please do not hesitate to contact David Brunswick on 0114 280 0627 should you
have any questions.

Yours sincerely

Julian Brooksbank

Regulatory Team Leader

Producer Responsibility Regulatory Services