Regulatory statement 124: Accepting shredded electronic storage media at sites permitted to accept hazardous WEEE

This regulatory statement (RS) is valid until 30 November 2028 by which time it will be reviewed. You should check back at that time to ensure the RS is still valid.

NRW can withdraw or amend this RS before the review date if we consider it necessary. This includes where the activities that this RS relates to have not changed.

Regulatory statement

This RS applies to accepting shredded electronic storage media at permitted sites that can currently accept waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) with the waste code 16 02 15* hazardous components removed from discarded equipment on their permit.

This RS links to RS123 - Shredding electronic data storage media containing confidential or sensitive material. This RS states that the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) waste code for hard drives and other components removed from WEEE items is either 16 02 15* or 16 02 16 prior to shredding. Following shredding the outputs (mixed waste containing hazardous and POPs waste) should be coded as 19 02 04*.

Most permitted sites which accept this WEEE waste stream do not currently have this code (19 02 04*) on their permit. This RS allows these specific permitted sites to continue to take this WEEE waste stream until permits have been amended to include this waste code.

The valid until date of this RS is the 30 November 2028, by this date you should ensure that your permit has been varied to include the relevant waste code should you wish to continue accepting this waste stream.

Conditions you must comply with

You must:

• have and comply with an environmental permit for WEEE storage and, or treatment
• have waste code 16 02 15* listed for accepting waste on your permit
• code this specific waste stream as 19 02 04* premixed wastes composed of at least one hazardous waste (shredded electronic storage media from data destruction only)
• treat any shredded material containing plastic (including printed circuit boards) as a persistent organic pollutant (POPs) waste unless you have firm evidence to the contrary
• send any POPs waste to a facility that will make sure it is irreversibly transformed or destroyed
• store shredded electronic storage media on impermeable pavement under cover or in a building
• comply with the regulations on managing hazardous waste by consigning hazardous waste for collection and transfer and by completing hazardous waste returns following acceptance
• keep records for 2 years from the date of the last use of the RS to show that you have complied with this RS and make these records available to the NRW on request

You must not:

• accept shredded electronic storage media if you are not permitted to accept it, do not have the waste code 16 02 15* on your permit, or only have an exemption including S2 or T11. 
• handle shredded storage media other than in accordance with your permit conditions

Enforcement

This RS does not change your legal requirement to comply with an environmental permit for a waste operation or installation when you accept shredded electronic storage media coded as 19 02 04* for storage or treatment.

However, NRW will not normally take enforcement action against you if you do not comply with this legal requirement provided that:

• your activity meets the description set out in this RS
• you comply with the conditions set out in this RS

In addition, your activity must not cause (or be likely to cause) pollution of the environment or harm to human health, and must not

• cause a risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals
• cause a nuisance through noise or odours
• adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest