Channel players set to reap benefits of WEEE

VARs are in a prime position to take advantage of revenue opportunities that the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive will throw up, according to IT disposal and recycling firm CKS.

As reported by CRN last week, the WEEE directive was officially transposed into UK law on 2 January (CRN Online, 2 January) and producers now have until 15 March to join an approved producer compliance scheme.

Derek Morgan, compliance consultant at CKS, told CRN: “There are two categories of resellers – those that sell to consumers and those that sell to businesses, and obviously some might sit in both camps. Resellers selling to consumers will have to decide whether to join the government’s Distributor Take-back Scheme (DTS) or offer their own in-store take-back scheme; they have until 1 July to make this decision.

“Resellers that sell to businesses do not need to sign up to a take-back scheme and unless they are classified as a producer then they won’t have any responsibilities under WEEE.”

In the channel, producers will consist mainly of manufacturers, but a reseller will be classified as the producer if it imports a product into the UK that is manufactured by a vendor without a UK presence, Morgan warned.

“Resellers without responsibilities have an opportunity to assist businesses in complying with the regulations,” he said. “By partnering with a recycling expert, VARs can offer services and consultancy to corporates.”

However, Mike Lawrence, managing director of VAR Bentpenny, said: “In Bristol recently, a company claiming to be a recycling expert was caught for flytipping a load of monitors. What’s to stop anyone from setting themselves up as a so-called expert and then just dumping the goods? I suggest accreditation for these recyling experts.”

WEEE gets go ahead at last