Most SMEs are still unaware of the WEEE regulations, a
year after the directive was first announced, theEnvironment Agencyhas
announced.
Only 12% of SMEs could name the
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations
unprompted, and just 36% had heard of them once prompted, the
Agency found in its NetRegs SME-environmental survey.
The Agency said UK businesses still throw away one million
tonnes of WEEE every year, and businesses still ignoring the
legislation could be paying the price through avoidable waste
charges and unnecessary effort in disposing of their own electrical
waste.
The regulations were enforced in
January 2007 to reduce the amount of electronic waste going to
landfill. They require producers of electrical and electronic
equipment to join a Producer Compliance Scheme and to take
responsibility for the treatment, collection and recycling of any
waste electronic equipment produced by them since August 2005.
For business users it means that they may return their end of
life electrical and electronic equipment to the producer and may no
longer need to pay to send it to landfill.
Richard Martin, NetRegs programme manager, said, "We strongly
recommend that SMEs incorporate WEEE into their procurement
procedures, so that when buying a new piece of equipment they check
that the producer is legally registered and already conforms to
WEEE. At the end of the equipment's life, disposal should be easier
and should also improve the company's green credentials.
"If you use a computer, a photocopier, or even have a microwave
in your staff kitchen, you need to be aware of what WEEE means for
you," said Martin.