Comment: Awareness of WEEE is high but there are still misconceptions

By financing the treatment and recycling of WEEE they are demonstrating that green issues are rising up the industry agenda and are making a real difference to the environment.

New research unveiled this week by the Environment Agency revealed that 76 per cent of businesses questioned are aware of the WEEE Regulations and a clear majority also believe that disposal of electronic and electrical waste in the UK is a major problem - demonstrating a high awareness of green issues and the WEEE Regulations amongst businesses.

Of those companies interviewed who have failed to join an approved scheme, nearly half (45 per cent) mistakenly believe that the regulations do not apply to them. Joining a scheme is a fundamental requirement of the new rules, and the vast majority of these businesses are wrong in their assumption.

The research revealed that there are still some concerning misconceptions around the regulations amongst producers who are obliged to join a scheme. These misconceptions could result in those businesses putting themselves at risk of breaching the rules.

The Environment Agency is now stepping up its enforcement activity, having allowed producers a bedding in period to understand their responsibilities and register with a producer compliance scheme, to ensure everyone understands their obligations and is playing their part.

Misconception: Many of the surveyed UK businesses do not realise they are classified as electrical producers

Over a third of companies questioned mistakenly think that small companies are exempt from the WEEE Regulations. In fact all businesses that make or assemble products which require electricity for their main purpose - from TVs to medical devices - and sell them under their own brand name, or who rebrand or import products before putting them on the UK market, are likely to have to comply with the WEEE Regulations, regardless of their size.

Misconception: Some companies believe that because their offices are not in the UK they don't need to comply

Even if a business' office is based outside the UK, if it brings electrical goods into the country to place on the UK market it is still needs to join a WEEE compliance scheme in the UK. The WEEE Regulations have been introduced to put the responsibility for waste disposal back on the producers - and any company involved in the manufacture, distribution, importing or rebranding of electrical products since January 2007 falls into this category.

Misconception: The regulations affect manufacturers more than importers

WEEE Regulations apply equally to all businesses involved in the EEE supply chain from manufacturers to distributors - there is no one sector that is more affected than another. To assume the regulations do not apply without checking is to risk enforcement action. Businesses can use online resources, such as the Environment Agency website, to find out quickly and simply how they are affected and the steps they are required to take to comply.

www.environment-agency.gov.uk/weee includes a straightforward, step by step guide to help producers comply and provides a list of compliance schemes to choose from. The advice is to shop around to get the best price and the appropriate level of support. Regardless of the scheme they sign up to, the costs of compliance are likely to be significantly less than the fines imposed for failing to meet the requirements of the WEEE Regulations.

Adrian Harding, Producer Responsibility Policy Advisor at the Environment Agency, explains: "It is encouraging to see good overall awareness of green issues across electronics manufacturing businesses. However, it is concerning that many businesses in the sector have not made full use of the guidance that's been put in place to help them comply with the WEEE Regulations. As we step up our enforcement of the regulations, many of these businesses are putting themselves at an increasing risk of being fined.

"Over 80 per cent of the producers we questioned know that enforcement action can be taken against them for non-compliance - but many are still failing to act. We urge any companies who could possibly fall into the 'producer' category of the WEEE Regulations to check out the scope of the requirements on the Environment Agency website, to see if their business needs to comply and what action they need to take."