Why are we involved?

Recycling facilities are now available where you can deposit your old electrical products.  This is a requirement under UK and European legislation (The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment – or WEEE – Directive).  The aim of the legislation is to:

Make good use of the materials that make up old electrical equipment by recycling them rather than disposing them in landfill

Prevent the negative environmental effects of sending often hazardous electrical equipment to landfill.

As a conscientious business, Panasonic UK Ltd. has chosen to join the ‘Distributor Take Back Scheme’.  Through membership of this scheme, we have paid toward the provision of improved recycling facilities for the benefit of the general public across the UK.

How does this work in practice?

You are now able to take any old electrical equipment to participating civic amenity sites (often known as ‘Household Waste Recycling Centres’) run by your local council.  Funding collected through the Distributor Take Back Scheme has been distributed between all Local Authorities in the UK to ensure the provision of improved recycling facilities.  Then as a producer of electrical and electronic goods, Panasonic provides further financing for the onward transportation, treatment and recycling of WEEE returned to such authorised collection points.

Where to dispose of WEEE?

Wherever practical, please do not dispose of old electrical waste with your general household waste, as it will then probably not be recycled and end up in general landfill or be incinerated.

If you are unsure as to where you can take your electrical waste for recycling, then you can locate your closest participating collection site at www.recycle-more.co.uk,

(please remember to have your postcode to hand), or contact your local authority.

Other information

UK households dispose of over 1.2 million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste every year.  This is the equivalent of 150,000 double-decker buses and would be enough to fill the new Wembley Stadium 6 times over.

Unfortunately, much of the UK’s electronic waste still ends up in landfill sites where it cannot be recycled to extract useful materials.  This also means that there is a greater chance of the uncontrolled release of chemical substances contained within the equipment, with potentially adverse effects to the local environment.

So, to help remind you to recycle, all new electrical products are marked with a crossed out wheeled bin symbol.