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<p>There are a number of legal mechanisms in place to control the export of Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), and to ensure that when WEEE is exported
it is managed safely. These include:</p><p> </p><ul><li>A ban on exporting WEEE from
the UK for disposal;</li><li>A ban on exporting hazardous WEEE from the UK to countries
which are not members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development;</li><li>A
requirement for those involved in the export of waste, including WEEE, to take all
necessary steps to ensure the waste is managed in an environmentally sound manner
throughout its shipment and during its recycling or recovery;</li><li>A requirement
for businesses to obtain approval from the Environment Agency (EA) to export whole
items of WEEE or WEEE derived materials.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The Basel Convention
on the transboundary movement of hazardous waste, to which the UK is a Party, agreed
changes on 15th June which will further tighten international controls on the export
of WEEE. The UK Government supports these changes which, from 2025, will require exporters
to obtain prior consent from the Competent Authority in both the country of dispatch
and destination to export all types of WEEE for recycling.</p><p> </p><p>The EA regulates
the export of waste in England, including WEEE. EA officers carry out pro-active and
intelligence led inspections to stop waste shipments that breach regulations before
they leave ports. In 2020-21, 869 containers were stopped, of which 176 were returned
to a waste site as they were unsuitable for export; 27 of those containers were found
to contain WEEE.</p><p> </p><p>Any UK operator found to be illegally exporting waste
can face a two-year jail term and an unlimited fine.</p>
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