August 2006
Will WEEE Work?
Businesses believe that the introduction of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) legislation has been poorly managed according to preliminary results from a UK-wide survey among businesses affected by it.
Researchers from the Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society (BRASS) based at Cardiff University want to assess the current impact of the implementation process of EU legislation for businesses working in the electrical and electronic equipment supply chain.
The researchers received over 100 responses within days of sending out the survey and decided to conduct a preliminary analysis of selected questions.
They found that though a minority of respondents were supportive of the UK Government’s handling of the implementation process but the majority have expressed significant concerns. Whilst most lauded the principle of the Directive, 69% expressed a negative response of legislation in the UK with 18% being neutral and none had a positive response. Lack of awareness featured high in concerns as did the sentiment that the legislation was "flawed".
Concern over the Government’s handling of the awareness raising and consultation process, provision of timely guidance to industry, and general criticism of the WEEE and Restriction of Hazardous substances (RoHS) directive were raised.
One response described the introduction of the WEEE directive as "shambolic" and another dealing with the reuse of IT and telecommunications equipment felt “badly let down” by the directive being steered towards the shredding and destruction of equipment that could be reused.
Over a quarter of the respondents to the survey believed that there has been a lack of guidance and awareness of the Directive, especially among small and medium sized companies. This point seemed to focus on the lack of guidance that has been generally available for both the companies and the general public.
Anxiety over the cost burden of the RoHS directive and the fact that implementation in the UK would place manufacturers at a disadvantage within the global market place for electronic goods and components; some businesses mentioned benefits such as internal audits leading to environmental and financial gains.
The survey is part of ongoing research into changes affecting the electronics industry globally and was sent to over 7,000 electrical and electronic goods manufacturers and related industrial sectors in the UK.
A full copy of the report is available from BRASS.
For more information on WEEE and the potential benefits of financial gains from the elimination of waste through environmental audits, contact Steve Stones on 01788 538 150.
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