02 Jul 2008
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive enjoyed its first anniversary yesterday and as such it is surprising that awareness of the directive remains fairly low, particularly among small businesses.
In fact, a recent Dell/FSB Green IT survey revealed that over 20 per cent of respondents did not know if WEEE applied to them. But despite this lack of awareness responsible IT disposal is a legal requirement today and there are certain steps businesses have to take to ensure they stay within the law.
Thankfully, the WEEE directive is not particularly onerous to end users and places the bulk of the responsibility for compliance and safe disposal of end of life equipment on manufacturers and importers. However, there are a number of steps businesses can take to ensure they are compliant.
Your first port of call should be the manufacturer of your unwanted Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) who in most cases will collect the kit and ensure it is disposed of correctly. Under the legislation, manufacturers who are registered members of a Producer Compliance Scheme are responsible for financing the costs associated with the safe disposal of WEEE so it is wise to check that all your new purchases of EEE are from members of such schemes.
However, there may be some instances – such as if EEE was purchased before August 2005 and you are not purchasing a new product – where end-user organisations are responsible for disposal themselves. If so, recycling through an approved authorised treatment facility is an alternative.
Alternatively, selling or donating unwanted EEE through a recognised or accredited channel is another option.
Taking these simple steps should ensure your firm is fully compliant with WEEE directive. However, there are a number of additional steps that should be taken to ensure you do not fall foul of data protection laws, by removing all sensitive data from the machines you are disposing of.
This can often be done by the authorised treatment facility handling the recycling and disposal of the kit, but again it is always best to check.
Thankfully, a year in to the WEEE directive there are encouraging signs that end-user organisations are becoming more aware of the need for the environmentally appropriate disposal of old EEE. Sadly, however, this awareness is not yet universal and as such it is up to manufacturers and the government to continue this education process and remind businesses to do their bit to ensure all their IT equipment is disposed of in an appropriate manner.
Jonathan Perry is Take Back Programme Manager for the UK & Benelux at IT company Dell
LATEST STORIES ABOUT IT
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
LATEST JOBS
TODAY'S TOP STORIES
HIGHLIGHT
BIS initiative aims to shift government and corporate procurement towards low carbon goods and services
INSIGHT
NEWSLETTER
INSIGHT
This new handbook explores practices that allow organisations to overcome their technological limitations and traditional office-culture challenges - freeing employees to do more with less from wherever they want to.
The centralised printers used in many businesses are wasteful, unreliable and expensive to run - just as their suppliers intend
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Add your comment
WEEE directive
The WEEE directive does have some significant failings, the greatest of these being the Producer Compliance Schemes and the lack of reporting therein. As these issues are ironed out, we'll be seen (through logging of recycling activities) to be more green. This isn't a Carbon Neutral exercise, it's about resources and materials. Business Comuter recycling is a very big and grwing business in the UK, fuelled through the WEEE directive and the need to businesses to comply. The major issue is that of the registration system and the lack of compliance among a large number of the numerous players currently in the market. The only sure fire way a business can comply is through the waste transfer system- hazardous waste consignment notes and duty of care are the basis of any waste movements in the UK.
Posted by Richard A Johnson, 12 Aug 2008
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive may be touted as a cost for suppliers, but unless organisations get their asset registers in order, it will also create a significant cost for UK business.
Such policies as WEEE assume a level of asset management far beyond that achieved by the majority of UK business. Unless supplying a like for like replacement, suppliers will only remove and dispose of equipment they have delivered initially. How many UK businesses can accurately identify the location of their WEEE equipment within the organisation and confirm when it was purchased and from whom? Without such information, just which company do they expect to handle the free disposal? Organisations need to implement sound asset disposal procedures. Linking the asset register to a document management system will ensure a scanned WEEE certificate is linked to a disposed asset, providing the required audit trail. Each asset can be recorded alongside the supplier?s name and email address, enabling swift supplier contact when disposal is due. UK business is already complaining about excessive red tape, perhaps why the WEEE Directive introduction in July 2007 was so downplayed. But a belief that the onus of WEEE is firmly on equipment suppliers could be an expensive mistake. Yours faithfully, Karen Conneely Group Commercial Manager Real Asset Management www.realassetmgt.co.uk
Posted by Karen Conneely, 09 Jul 2008