One year on from the introduction of the WEEE regulations, a survey has found that the majority of smaller businesses are still unaware of the legislation.

The 2006 Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations were introduced in January 2007 to reduce the amount of electrical waste going to landfill, and they are one of the most universally-relevant of all environmental regulations – UK businesses throw away one million tonnes of WEEE every year.

One year on and a survey by NetRegs has found that small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) across the UK are still unaware of these regulations. Many SMEs may be neglecting their environmental responsibilities and missing out on cost savings. The SME-Environment survey found that only 10% of Scottish SMEs could name the WEEE Regulations. However, 12% of SME’s UK wide could name the regulations.   

SMEs that are still ignoring WEEE legislation could be paying the price through avoidable waste charges and unnecessary effort in disposing of their own electrical waste.

The WEEE Regulations require producers of electrical and electronic equipment to join a Producer Compliance Scheme and to take financial responsibility for the treatment, collection and recycling of any waste electronic equipment produced by them since August 2005. For business end users of WEEE it means that they may return their end of life electrical equipment to the producer supplying them with new EEE and may no longer need to pay either for the recycling or final disposal.

Claudette Hudes NetRegs co-ordinator continued: “The good news for SMEs is that WEEE legislation can help businesses dispose of their electrical waste products sustainably - in many cases, at no cost. Now they can contact the producer of electrical goods, as long as it was purchased after 13 August 2005, to finance its recycling or disposal. 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. The end of life management of the equipment should be easier while improving the SME’s green credentials.”

“Many sectors wrongly believe that WEEE is only relevant to businesses in the electrical sector. In fact, 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. Businesses are missing out on big cost savings and harming their green credentials."

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EnviroFutures Ltd, Sheffield Technology Park, 60 Shirland Lane, Sheffield
South Yorkshire, S9 3SP; Tel: 0114 2213516 Email: info@envirofutures.com
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