VARs caught off guard by new recycling rules
Resellers face new environmental legislation as many still struggling to come to terms with WEEE
The channel could face heavy fines and possible prosecution from yet another European Union recycling mandate, just as VARs are getting to grips with the impending Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive.
The Hazardous Waste Directive (HWD), which came into force on 16 July, affects any firm that produces, collects, transports, stores, recovers or disposes of hazardous equipment. Many items have been newly classified as hazardous under the regulations, including CRT and flat-panel monitors, and laptop and PDA batteries.
The regulations are being enforced by the Environment Agency (EA), but companies producing under 200kg of hazardous waste per year are exempt. An EA representative told CRN: “Any firm that wants to move hazardous waste – either to dispose of or recover – has to be registered with us. Non-compliance could result in fines of up to £5,000 and possible prosecution. We appreciate that there will be some businesses that won’t be aware of the regulations so we will allow a few weeks leeway.”
Jon Godfrey, managing director of recycling company Lifecycle Services, said: “This is the first time computer waste has been termed hazardous. The majority of the channel is not aware. We have been calling our clients to see if they know about HWD and only two out of 400 were aware and registered. Nobody has seen it coming at all.”
Kevin Riches, managing director of IT recycling firm Technical Asset Management (TAM), said: “If a reseller is selling used PCs onto another party, is it still waste? The EA told me that when PCs are stored or delivered in a way that suggests they will not be reused, then it is waste.”
Steve Mellings, operations support manager at Morse, said: “We have been aware of this legislation for two years and have been working with TAM to comply. The HWD, WEEE and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, are all putting pressure on our customers to deal with their decommissioned equipment.”
Shaune Parsons, managing director of VAR Computer World Wales, said: “We were not aware of this directive. We have only just started getting to grips with our responsibilities under WEEE.”