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13 Feb 2006
The government has claimed that the fourth delay to the implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive has been welcomed by UK businesses.
Energy minister Malcolm Wicks, said: “The implementation of the directive has been delayed in order to take full account of concerns expressed by businesses and other stakeholders. The delay has been welcomed by business. It will give the government time to ensure that the costs to business are minimised once the directive has been fully implemented.”
Originally due to come into force in June, the government announced its latest delay to the WEEE directive in December (CRN, 19 December), with a review expected to take place in the spring.
“A new timetable for implementation will not be set until the review is concluded,” Wicks said.
Mike Lawrence, managing director of VAR Bentpenny, said: “There is no infrastructure in place to support the WEEE directive which is why it’s not been implemented yet. People have got nowhere to take their obsolete kit and the government is now having a panic. The question resellers want answered is what infrastructure is there going to be to handle WEEE and where will the money come from?”
Late last month Wicks was asked during a session in the Houses of Parliament what new infrastructure will be put in place to help producers of electrical and electronic equipment comply with WEEE and he replied: “I am unable to assess what new infrastructure will be required.”
Jon Godfrey, managing director of Lifecycle Services, said: “When Wicks said that the delay had been welcomed by “business” he was referring to a select group consisting mainly of retailers. Retailers have got together and lobbied for a delay to WEEE implementation as they don’t want anything to do with it.
“I anticipate that WEEE now won’t be implemented until late 2007. The best thing the channel can do is be ready for what is coming as there won’t be a huge amount of notice,” added Godfrey.
Derek Morgan, compliance consultant at CKS Group, said: “At the moment businesses carry the cost of WEEE exclusively on their shoulders. The sooner the implementation details can be thrashed out then the sooner the responsibility can be shared.”
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