Approved Authorised Treatment Facility
An authorised treatment facility (ATF) is a permitted (or registered exempt) site carrying out treatment on waste electrical and electronic wastes. Treatment can include depollution, disassembly, shredding, recovery, or preparation for disposal. Any operator of a site or sites receiving WEEE direct from a designated collection facility (DCF), distributor, or end-user can apply to become approved. Only operators of approved ATFs (AATFs) can issue evidence notes for the treatment, recovery or recycling of WEEE that takes place in the UK.
The evidence must relate to treatment, recovery, and recycling being carried out on an approved site, or to further treatment, recovery, and recycling carried out at further sites. The evidence notes will be required by compliance schemes on behalf of producers who will need to prove that a certain amount of WEEE has been treated, recovered, and recycled.
Evidence of re-use and refurbishment of whole appliances will also count towards the recovery and recycling targets. If you are an operator of a facility which collects whole items for re-use and refurbishment, for example computers or large household items such as fridges, washing machines or cookers, and you operate under a waste management licence or exemption, you can apply to become an AATF. This will then allow you to issue evidence of re-use to compliance schemes and their producers. If you become an AATF and you intend to undertake the export of WEEE or WEEE materials for further treatment, recovery, or recycling, you will also need to apply to be an approved exporter (AE). If you intend for someone else to undertake the export of WEEE or WEEE materials for further treatment, recovery or recycling on your behalf you must ensure that they have been approved to operate as an approved exporter.
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