Business-to-business IT manufacturer Brother published its “Green Business” survey today, which found that 50% of businesses do not understand the full implications of the WEEE Directive.
The WEEE Directive, which will become UK law next summer, requires separately collected waste electrical goods to be recycled. This has financial implications for businesses that will have to pay for the collection and recycling of any equipment they are not replacing (see letsrecycle.com story).
Brother's survey of 250 IT managers found that, among those aware of the changes, three-quarters estimated that the changes to the disposal of IT would account for up to 5% of their annual spending on IT, while others said it could be as high as 10% and some as low as 1%.
Worrying
Mike Dinsdale, marketing director of Brother UK, said: “It's worrying to see Britain's businesses aren't fully aware of the implications of WEEE and the potential cost it could mean to their businesses. IT managers should be putting strategies in place now.”
He added: “Many companies have stockpiles of old IT equipment and they will be responsible for disposing of the waste which vendors won't take back –potentially with heavy costs for companies failing to plan ahead.”
Despite its cost implications, 92% of the businesses aware of the WEEE Directive agreed that more needs to be done to divert IT waste from landfill.
The government published the draft regulations for the WEEE Directive last week (see letsrecycle.com story). The consultation said of the funding of business to business WEEE recycling: “The Regulations require that a producer who supplies new equipment to a business user to replace original equipment purchased before 13 August 2005 must finance the costs of treatment, recovery and sound disposal of the replaced equipment (whether or not they supplied this original equipment).”
But it adds: “If the business user is not making a like-for-like replacement purchase then he is responsible for financing collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally responsible end disposal of any equipment he discards if he bought the equipment prior to 13 August 2005.”
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