Small firms unaware of WEEE obligations
March 28, 2007
When it comes to disposing of their electronic and electrical waste, almost half of small firms are unaware of their legal obligations.
According to IT retailer WStore, 47 per cent of small businesses do not know how the 1 July introduction of the Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive will affect them. Two-thirds of respondents are not implementing policies or procedures to cater for the new regulations.
"Many businesses have assumed they will not be affected by the regulations, and are not aware they could be faced with the cost of disposal of old IT and electrical equipment," WStore commercial manager Stewart Hayward.
Although the directive requires producers and retailers of electrical and electronic equipment to dispose of unwanted goods, the regulations will also apply to any business disposing of electrical and electronic equipment purchased before 13 August 2005. Firms will be required to arrange and pay for the disposal of this waste by an approved authorised treatment facility.
However, if businesses are replacing rather than disposing of their electrical or electronic equipment – then the disposal becomes the responsibility of the vendor of the new equipment, not the purchaser.
For products purchased after August 2005, the duty to dispose of the equipment lies with the producer or vendor.
According to the DTI, the obligation most likely to affect small firms is the requirement for retailers, selling electrical and electronic goods, to offer a take-back scheme for unwanted items. Firms will be able to run their own scheme, arrange for a third party to take the goods – providing this does not make it harder for consumers to return items – or join the Government’s Distributor Take-back Scheme (DTS).
The Government has appointed Valpak Retail WEEE Services to operate the DTS. The scheme will be funded by collectively charging UK retailers of electrical and electronic equipment a total of £10 million. The scheme will establish a network of designated collection facilities where consumers can dispose of their electrical waste.
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