Product category:
Compliance Engineering
News Release from: Environ | Subject: WEEE compliance
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 10 March 2006
Web-based system gets to grips with WEEE
Environ has developed a web-based approach that provides the B2B producer with flexibility and control of future WEEE recycling arrangements.
The EC Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive was implemented in Germany as the ElektroG Act All producers of electrical and electronic equipment in Germany were required to register with the Elektro-Altgeraete Register (EAR) by 24th November 2005
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 6 Nov 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Producer compliance scheme answers WEEE demands
Environ has set up a producer compliance scheme - the B2BWEEE-Scheme - to enable producers of business-to-business (B2B) products to fulfil their obligations under the proposed UK WEEE Regulations.
Producer compliance scheme is ready for WEEE
Environ has set up a producer compliance scheme for business-to-business WEEE in the UK.
Producers who are not registered with the EAR are prohibited from putting electrical and electronic equipment on the market in Germany.
According to regulatory tracking consultant Perchards, by February 2006 a total of 4225 producers had registered in Germany.
The next deadline that producers of business products must meet is to provide collection and recycling of WEEE arising from new product sales from 23rd March 2006.
Further reading
WEEE producer compliance scheme opens for business
Environ's B2BWEEE-scheme is now open for member registration, which will give business-to-business producers the opportunity to join well before the 15th March 2007 deadline.
Clearly fused for vehicle current measurement
Klari-Fuse detects errors in automobile electronics with precise measurement of currents in vehicle fuse devices.
New joystick uses Hall effect technology
Penny + Giles has added to its range the JC6000 robust multi-axis joysticks designed for demanding operator control applications.
The EAR will contact business producers to ask what collection and recycling arrangements they have put in place in Germany.
WEEE collection and recycling for business products (known as business-to-business or B2B) is fundamentally different from collection and recycling of household products (known as business-to-consumer or B2C).
Producers of B2C products are required to finance collection and recycling of household WEEE deposited at local collection facilities (eg civic amenity centres and high street retailers).
In Germany and most other EU member states, the quantity of WEEE that each B2C producer is required to collect and recycle from these local collection facilities is calculated based on their market share of new product sales.
In practical terms, B2C producers do not have any option but to join a compliance scheme in each member state.
The compliance scheme will organise collections of WEEE from civic amenity sites on behalf of all its member companies.
For producers of B2B products, the situation is quite different.
In Germany and almost all other member states, business WEEE cannot be deposited at civic amenity sites or other collection facilities for household WEEE.
Instead, the B2B producer must arrange for the WEEE to be collected from the business end user's premises by a licensed waste carrier and taken to a licensed WEEE recycler.
Article 10 (2) of ElektroG requires producers of B2B products "to provide a reasonable option for the return and recycling of WEEE".
Most B2B WEEE compliance schemes and recyclers are keen to quote for collection of B2B WEEE from the business end user's premises because it is an opportunity for them to generate additional revenue.
However, in most member states conventional logistics companies have the necessary waste carrier licences and are very well suited to collect WEEE from business end users.
In this case, involving a third party such as a B2B WEEE compliance scheme or a recycler to arrange collections from business end users can simply increase administrative costs.
To minimise WEEE administration and collection costs, Environ recommends that B2B producers should require the business end user to arrange and pay for transportation of WEEE to the recycler.
When pushed, most reputable recyclers will be content to supply their recycling services as a "stand-alone" service, without the need to also supply logistics services.
Based on an analysis of WEEE recycling quotes received from the leading pan-European WEEE recycling organisations, Environ recommends the European Advanced Recycling Network (EARN), which was formed in May 2005 from five of the largest recycling companies in Europe: Coolrec, Stena Technoworld, Indumetal, Electrocycling and Ecotronics.
The average EARN recycling cost for nonhazardous WEEE across member states is currently Eur 165 per tonne.
EARN charges Eur 500 per country for recycling data compliance reporting to the WEEE agency in each member state, and assistance with WEEE producer registration if required (ie translation of company registration data into national language and submission of relevant forms to the WEEE agency).
It is important to ensure that arrangements for transportation of B2B WEEE from businesses to the EARN recycling facility in each member state comply with the EC Waste Framework Directive.
The requirement to generate documentation to comply with the Waste Framework Directive is often cited by recyclers as a reason why the B2B producer should use the recycler's or compliance scheme's collection arrangements.
However, Environ has developed a simple web-based system which meets this requirement.
Environ's web-based system enables the B2B producer to provide business end users with a recycling collection label which they can easily complete to generate the required documentation themselves.
To manage and communicate collection and recycling arrangements to business end users, Environ helps the B2B producer to create a dedicated area on its website.
The website address can be printed on the product below the crossed-out wheelie bin to indicate where business end users should go to get more information about the B2B producer's collection and recycling arrangements.
The website provides the business end user with an appropriate recycling collection label which contains details for the B2B producers nominated carrier(s) and selected recycling organisation in that country.
The business end user can download the label, complete the details and fix it to a cardboard box or other suitable container ready for collection.
By showing the business end user how they can contact the carrier to arrange and pay for a WEEE collection, the B2B producer's website saves money on avoided administration costs.
Environ's web-based approach also provides the B2B producer with flexibility and control of future WEEE recycling arrangements.
The producer can change recyclers in individual countries as necessary to take advantage of new recycling technologies and techniques which may deliver higher revenue returns for its waste equipment.
The producer's website provides a single corporate solution for WEEE collection and recycling across Europe, which can be expanded to cover WEEE recycling in other countries (eg USA, Canada, Japan, China, Korea etc).
• Environ: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
• Electronicstalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
