"The Longest WEEE in History"

From today, 01 July 2007, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive is now enforcable in the UK. After many delays the legislation was initially intended to be in force in August 2005. Implementing the scheme into the UK is estimated to have cost £111m - £133m, and by 2017 will have cost £331m - £434m according to figures from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Covered under the legislation is ten types of product each given their own specific category;

• Large household appliances: fridges, freezers, microwave ovens, washing machines
• Small household appliances: vacuum cleaners, toasters, coffee machines, electric toothbrushes
• IT and telecommunications equipment: PCs, laptops, monitors, keyboards, printers, cordless phones
• Consumer equipment: radios, TVs, DVD players, video recorders etc
• Lighting equipment: low-energy Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are classified as WEEE
• Electric tools: all tools such as drills, saws, sewing machines. Only large, stationary industrial tools are exempt
• Toys, sport and leisure equipment: electric trains, game consoles, cycle computers etc
• Medical devices: implanted or infected products are exempt
• Monitoring and control devices: smoke alarms, thermostats, etc
• Automated devices: this classification covers all appliances that automatically deliver products, for example, drinks, food, money, etc.

The WEEE directive obligates manufactures and importers of electrical equipment covered under the scheme responsible for the recycling of their products at no cost to the consumer, the intention is that this will increase the amount of electronics being recycled and reduce the amount of ewaste which ends up in our landfill sites, which pose a substaintial environmental threat from the dangerous substances that are contained within. I have previously written about mobile phones and CFL bulbs, each of which contain dangerous chemicals which need to be disposed or reclaimed of in a controlled manner.

Under the directive each of the European Union nations must meet a target of recycling a minimum 4kg of ewaste per resident. Whilst manufactures and importers are obligated, there is not obligation on the consumer to recycle their ewaste, however since August 2005, most electronic devices have been issued with a new logo (pictured above) to try discourage disposal in general household waste.

To guage how big a problem ewaste is in the UK, each year we dispose of 1.2m tonnes of waste electronics, the majority of which makes its way to landfills. Through the implementation of WEEE, it is anticipated that 20% will be diverted from landfill, however industry analysts predict that this figure will be far greater.

Whilst the implementation has taken longer than expected the systems in place to help reduce waste going to landfill are welcomed by all, any reduction in ewaste is a benefit to the environment. With the new legislation in place it will also act as an incentive to companies to ensure that their products are made from materials which can easily and cost effectively be recycled, ultimately the cost of the scheme will be bourne by the consumer, but in the compeitive high demand world of electronics this will be a marginal increase on the price of each product.