WEEE anniversary brings penalty warning

The warning from the manufacturers’ organisation EEF comes on the one year anniversary of companies becoming responsible for recovery of products at the end of their life, a year that EEF says has been marked by many firms struggling to understand the requirements and an absence of proper guidance. Gareth Stace, head of environment at EEF, said: “The requirements of the directive are a maze for many companies who are unaware that they are covered and risk being fined. One year on there is still a need to provide more help and guidance for companies in understanding what their obligations are.” Under the Regulations, producers of electrical and electronic equipment are financially responsible for the recovery and recycling of the equipment at the end of life. However, the definition of where the ultimate responsibility lies has been far from clear as supply chains are often complex and identifying where the full producer obligations fall has been difficult. This has caused problems for small and medium size companies who often think they are exempt. There also remains an absence of any risk-based principle which means the obligations are disproportionate to the impact of the equipment on the environment. EEF is urging the government to apply its principle of simplification and better regulation to the review of the directive later this year by the European Commission. As part of its own efforts to raise awareness among companies, EEF has updated its guidance on WEEE. This is available free from www.eef.org.uk to companies who register.