Digital River to take e-waste compliance technology to US

Software provider Digital River is poised to launch technology designed to help firms comply with e-waste rules in the North American market, ahead of the expected expansion of legislation designed to promote the safe recycling of consumer electronics and IT equipment.

The company, which specialises in e-commerce software that automates the payment, delivery and shipping processes for shopping web sites, already offers functions designed to help European online retailers comply with the EU's waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive and is now preparing to launch a version for the US and Canadian markets.

Julie-Lynn Tikekar, European product manager at the company, said there were already 10 US states and three Canadian provinces with electronic waste legislation in place largely modelled on the WEEE directive, while a further 10 states will introduce new rules this year.

In addition, the Obama administration has asked regulators to assess whether federal legislation is needed to help promote electronic recycling and address the issue of potentially hazardous e-waste.

Under the WEEE directive, manufacturers of electronic equipment have to pay into recycling funds to help cover the cost of recycling, while in certain countries they are also obliged to provide purchasers with information on the WEEE surcharge they are paying towards recycling.

Tikekar said that Digital River's technology helps online retailers to automate this process, providing them with a fee database that calculates how much they should be paying into a recycling fund. In addition, it allows them to provide customers with information on their invoice about the WEEE surcharge and how they should recycle the product they are buying at the end of its life.

"One of the main aims of the WEEE directive and the new legislation in North America is to involve the consumer in recycling and make it easier for them to get information on a product's environmental impact at the point of purchase," she explained, adding that the company's technology would help ensure online retailers also comply with the "spirit of the law".

She added that many online retailers in Europe were continuing to breach the WEEE directive by failing to adequately inform customers of how to recycle products. "The majority of companies are financially compliant with WEEE but they are not necessarily promoting WEEE at point of sale," she said. "It is an issue for companies, and in particular online retailers who can update their product catalogue every few days."