Responsibilities of sellers

A seller must arrange for statutory removal service free of charge for consumers. In this connection: -

• A seller must apply to Environmental Protection Department (EPD) for endorsement of removal service plan to carry on a business of distributing regulated electrical equipment (REE). The plan must specify the collection and recycling services providers.
• When submitting the removal service plan to EPD for endorsement, the plan must have the written undertakings made by qualified collection and recycling services providers to the seller.
• A seller must not distribute REE in the absence of a removal service plan that has been endorsed by EPD.

If a seller distributes REE to a consumer, the seller must-

• notify the consumer in writing of the arrangements of the statutory removal service and the relevant terms of service so that the consumer can make a choice according to his/her own needs.
• upon the consumer's request, arrange for the free statutory removal service to remove an old equipment of the same class from the premises designated by the consumer and so as to deliver it to a recycler for proper disposal.
• provide an appropriate recycling label to the consumer not later than the taking of actual possession of the REE by the consumer.
• provide a receipt with the prescribed wording to inform consumers about the recycling levy payable by registered supplier in respect of an item of REE under the scheme and achieve a "visible fee" effect.
• keep a record of the requests for statutory removal service for the ease of future review.

To assist sellers of REE in providing the statutory removal service as required under the producer responsibility scheme on waste electrical and electronic equipment implemented, Environmental Protection Department and the trade had jointly launched the Removal Service Trial Scheme. This allowed the trade and stakeholders to get prepared and familiarised themselves with the relevant operation. The trial was completed on 31 July 2018.