Tea bag ban over foot-and-mouth (BBC News Online, 7 January 2005)
Householders have been told not to throw tea bags in waste meant for compost because it is a foot-and-mouth risk. Cardiff council said European regulations meant tea bags or vegetable peelings could not go in bins used to collect “green” waste. The rules, which affect all local councils, say kitchen waste is a danger because it may have been in contact with meat. The bins are composted and sold to the public. Until now, users have been able to include material such as coffee filters and vegetable peelings. But the authority is set to enforce EU laws designed to prevent a further outbreak of foot-and-mouth by excluding materials which may have been in contact with meat and milk…
Under EU law the UK is fully entitled, but not obliged, to impose stringent standards on the composting of household catering waste. Following …

Shake ‘n back – EU tells women to hand in worn-out sex toys (The Sun, 04 February 2004, page 22)
Red-faced women will have to hand in their clapped-out sex toys under a new EU law. They must take back old vibrators for recycling before they can buy a new one.
Under the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment directives member states must ensure that, as from 13 August 2005, final owners of such goods may return their products to the retailer for recycling at no cost. There is no requirement for anyone to hand in old electrical goods before being allowed to purchase new ones, merely that they should be able to do so free of charge if they so wish.

If you throw away those old musical socks the kids gave you last Christmas you face a hefty fine under a planned new EU rule. An army of dustbin detectives will make sure that anything with an electrical circuit – which includes novelty socks and singing birthday cards – doesn’t get tossed out with the rubbish. … It is hoped the barmy EU rule – … – will stop old mobiles, computers, tools, hairdryers and even light bulbs and nasal hair removers being buried at dumps.
(Sunday People, 3 March 2002, p 12)

Householders face fines for throwing away unwanted electrical goods under an EU law passed yesterday.
(Daily Mail, 11 April 2002, p 33)

Local authorities could face “electronic mountains” of old washing machines, computers, toasters and clocks under an ultra-green recycling law passed by the European Parliament yesterday.
(The Daily Telegraph, 11 April 2002, p 15)
 

Electrical products account for four per cent of …

A law that was originally designed to deal with abandoned motors could lead to lovingly part-restored MGs and what-have-you being removed forcibly from driveways as junk….
(The Express, page 23, 12 June 1999)
For environmental reasons, the End of Life Vehicle legislation will make provision for the recycling of car parts and unwanted cars. Vehicles will, of course, only be scrapped if owners explicitly wanted that.

Acts of kindness such as feeding stale bread to swans, and bakers and other industries giving leftovers to wildlife charities or to the homeless, have been banned by an EC Directive which goes on to stipulate that those giving and those receiving must possess a licence as well. Adding insult to injury, these licences cost approximately £2,000 each. (The Observer, 20 February 1994)
The EC has not done any such thing. If this situation has resulted from anything it could be the UK’s 1990 Environmental Protection Act.

Elements of this Act implement EC legislation as agreed by national ministers. The relevant EC Directive deals with the disposal of waste (*), and aims to protect the environment and the health of EC citizens against the harmful effects that can be caused by the collection, transport, treatment, storage and tipping of waste. It is recognised that central to improving the efficiency of the management …