The channel can finally start fully preparing for the impending Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive as the regulations were laid before Parliament last week and published on the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) web site.
The regulations will come into force on 2 January 2007, with producers having to join an approved producer compliance scheme by 15 March to ensure that they are able to comply with the directive from 1 July 2007.
Jon Godfrey, managing director of Life Cycle Services, told CRN: “Although full producer responsibility for WEEE will start on 1 July 2007, the channel should be made aware that if they’re handling hazardous WEEE they will have to comply from 1 April 2007.
“If a VAR sells a TFT screen, then under the like-for-like take-back obligation it could be given a CRT monitor by the customer to dispose of. CRTs are classified as hazardous, so the reseller will find itself having to comply with the directive earlier than the 1 July implementation date.”
Shaune Parsons, managing director of VAR Computer World Wales, said: “There has been no education for the channel from the government. We’ve been doing our own investigations with the Welsh Assembly, but the majority of resellers are going to be potentially breaking the law come April as the majority handle CRTs and other hazardous waste.”
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