Fridge firm hits out at WEEE directive

Poor policing and a lack of certainty in its charging system are among a series of problems in a new EU waste directive. According to the international Leicester-based refrigerator firm, the Husky Group, the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive – which aims to make producers of electrical and electronic equipment pay for its recycling, safe treatment and disposal when the products come to the end of their useful life – fails to make sense and is not being fairly applied. All importers of electrical and electronic goods like Husky (which designs, manufactures, services - and ultimately disposes of - a range of commercial and domestic refrigerators) are obliged to register and submit the weight of goods they import at regular intervals. Each quarter, the importer receives a bill, representing a charge for the disposal/recycling of the goods in that period. Husky chief executive Geoff Thomasson (pictured) explains: “We welcome legislation and regulation that encourages an environmentally friendly approach to business, but it has to make sense and be fairly applied. The WEEE Directive fails on both counts at the moment.” Husky says the business-to-business case is easily monitored as it already operates a disposal policy when a customer replaces their old machine with a new unit. Its concern is the way the directive affects the business to consumer sector. “The Directive is effectively a retrospective tax on importers, who are now paying for the disposal of products sold maybe 15 or 20 years ago by companies that may no longer exist,” says Thomasson. “The business-to-business WEEE applies from August 2005 – everyone knows where they stand - but the business to consumer WEEE has no such starting point – liability is simply whenever the goods turn up at a disposal site.” He pointed out that the charge is based on the company’s percentage of overall imported refrigeration product in a particular quarter, which is unknown at the time of reporting. It is therefore impossible to determine within any certainty as to the amount of charge in that period. Also, as the amount is based on weight, refrigeration products are disadvantaged due to the fact that many higher-value products are lighter, but no less challenging to the environment. “Moreover, we suspect that a sizeable minority of importers have yet to register and are therefore not paying the charges. Honest importers are effectively subsidising these companies. Although we support efforts towards environmentally friendly disposal, we are strongly opposed to the way the WEEE directive has been implemented for business to consumer products – it is poorly thought out and ineffectively policed,” he said. “Importers of electrical and electronic goods into the UK operate in a highly competitive, customer-led market. It’s tough enough without having this additional charge imposed by a government trying to be seen to be environmentally aware,” Thomasson concludes.