The regulations apply to manufacturers, resellers of goods under own brands and importers of electrical and electronic equipment. There are also obligations on end users.

 

From 1 July 2007 manufacturers and retailers will be responsible for financing the collection, recovery and treatment of waste electrical equipment including facilities for consumers to return their waste equipment free of charge.

 

Also from 1 July 2007 all commercial organisations are required to take steps to ensure that electrical and electronic equipment is disposed of and recycled under approved schemes and that they can evidence this.

The obligations for commercial end users

• Proof must be kept that electrical and electronic waste was given to a waste management company which treated and disposed of it in an environmentally sound way.

In many cases from 1 July 2007 disposal will be free. All sales of electrical and electronic equipment made after 13 August 2005

• Electrical and electronic products must be stored, collected, treated, recycled and disposed of separately from other waste.

may be returned without charge. Unwanted waste electrical and electronic equipment may be returned if an equivalent piece of equipment is being purchased. In both cases a business passes responsibility for compliance with WEEE to the supplier.

Negotiating your obligations

Business does have the facility to negotiate WEEE responsibilities with suppliers. It is possible to transfer obligations for WEEE as part of normal contract negotiations. This means there will be some hefty discounts for customers who are prepared to accept responsibility for disposing of regulated equipment and will be an attractive proposition for many, combining an up front cash reward and a liability that is well into the future. Word is that manufacturers will be offering inducements to offset their future liability, as they have likely been considering the financial implications of the WEEE Directive and obviously have decided that they are significant, perhaps businesses should be wary of taking the most immediately attractive route.

WEEE and Data Protection

The objective of WEEE is to promote recycling and reuse of equipment which means that computers and computer components are likely to be reused. Any electrical or electronic equipment that stores personal data should be degaussed before disposal or by the recycling service provider. Other techniques for ensuring that data on the hard drive is inaccessible are not so reliable. Shredding, for example, is another suggested way to ensure that data on the

This suggests that a business should consider a long-term relationship with a reputable service provider that is able to offer secure disposal of electrical and electronic equipment in conformance with both WEEE and data protection requirements. There are a

At the very least, an organisation that is considering taking the discounts on offer on new equipment from manufacturers should carry out an exercise to price its long term financial commitment to dispose of the equipment with a reputable service provider.

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hard drive is rendered inaccessible however modern techniques mean that information on a hard drive may be reconstituted and made accessible again from a tiny fraction of the original component. number of accreditation schemes for service providers to establish their credentials when undertaking this type of work including the Cabinet Office certification scheme ("CESG"). Mandy Webster, DPC Services Limited