Recharger.com

WEEE Directive Implementation Hits Snag in UK

June 6, 2003

The United Kingdom Cartridge Remanufacturers Association (UKCRA) issued its formal response on May 30 to a UK government report that suggested consumables, and thus perhaps cartridges, should not be included under Article 4 of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive. The government is in the early stages of determining interpretation, and UKCRA Secretary Laura Heywood is confident that there is still time to lobby for the inclusion of cartridges before the August 2004 implementation deadline.

The Directive, formally approved by the European Parliament earlier in the year, is in the implementation phase, where member states determine their own interpretations of the Directive and how it will be put into law in their countries.

Article 4 of the Directive states that manufacturers could not include impediments to reuse in their products — this would essentially prohibit the use of smart or "clever" chips in cartridges. This Article was the result of heavy lobbying by the remanufacturing industry, including extensive work by Heywood, UKCRA President Keith Moss and Member of European Parliament Chris Davies.

In the UK, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is in charge of implementation. The DTI released its initial report with suggestions for implementation at the end of March. The report included the statement, "This Article [4] does not relate to consumables (e.g., videotapes, computer disks)," leaving it unclear whether cartridges are considered consumables, and would be excluded.

UKCRA responded to the DTI statement with three main arguments about why cartridges should be included under Article 4, along with "proof of how toner and inkjet cartridges fit," Heywood said.

The UKCRA statement said that first, "Consumables, notably those that are part of WEEE at the time of discarding, do fall within the range of the Directive. Secondly, that such cartridges can be defined as EEE (Electrical and Electronic Equipment) in their own right. And third, that the Directive also defines toner cartridges as components that do fall within the range of the Directive."

Heywood noted that this is just an initial draft, and there still is time to lobby for cartridges to be included. "It's not been finalized yet. We don't want it to go to battle yet and put the government in the corner. It's still in the discussion stage. We have to convince them in a nice way that (cartridges) aren't excluded," she said. "It's basically a conflict of wording. Within different places in the Directive, there are different wordings" about the definition of a consumable, and whether cartridges are considered consumables.

Since each member state implements the directive on its own, it is important to keep track of how the various countries are implementing the WEEE Directive, Heywood said. "Every (EU) country with a remanufacturer in it has to go to the government body that will implement this and see how they are looking at consumables," she said. "Some have been implemented already, and others (including the UK) are still working on it."

Currently, the DTI is considering responses from UKCRA and other groups. Heywood said that she hopes UKCRA representatives will be included the next time there is discussion.

"We're writing letters to our MPs to say that the DTI is misinterpreting this," she said. She recommends that all UK remanufacturers send a letter to their MPs as well.

"We were also helped by an article in the (national newspaper) Daily Telegraph. Their environment editor attended our UKCRA meeting and did an article about how the DTI is dragging their feet on this. We also have the (environmental group) Friends of the Earth on our side," Heywood said, adding that she had already contacted MEP Davies about helping lobby for these issues.

For the full text of the UKCRA response, see "Response to the UK Government Discussion Paper." For a UKCRA press release on this, see "UKCRA Objects to Government Position on Reuse." For the original DTI statement on implementation, see www.DTI.gov.uk/sustainability/pdfs/weee-rohs-condoc.pdf (800kb PDF; 120 pages). For more information on how you can help, contact Heywood at info@ukcra.com.