Government announce that manufacturers must provide spare parts for electrical products

Today (10 March 2021), the government announced that manufacturers will be required to make spare parts for electrical products available to consumers, in efforts to expand the lifespan of electrical products by up to 10 years.

According to ministers, the rules are set to be introduced this Summer, introducing eco-design measures that promote the “repairability” of consumer products to tackle the practice of ‘planned obsolescence’ - a short lifespan deliberately built into appliances by manufacturers, resulting in costly replacements for the consumer. The rules are expected to extend the lifespan of products such as fridges, washing machines and televisions.

This move has been welcomed by MP Philip Dunne, the chair of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) who claims that “making spare parts available to consumers, is the first step to creating a circular economy where we use, reuse, and recycle products.” This transition comes from a recently conducted inquiry into electronic waste and the circular economy, concluding in the publication of a report on 26 November 2020.

You can access the full report here

The UK generates around 1.5 million tonnes of electrical waste (e-waste) every year and The Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has confirmed that even though these changes will not be factored into the WEEE collection target setting process in the short term, measures to increase the life span of electrical products will likely have an impact on the long-term targets set for the collection of WEEE.

If you have any queries with regards to these new government rules and if relevant, how this will affect your business, please get in touch with your Account Manager or the WEEE team at weee@complydirect.com or 01756 794 951.