'Spare a thought for WEEE-hit PC makers' says lawyer

A leading law firm has raised a number of questions about the effectiveness of new environmentally friendly regulations for the proper disposal of obsolete tech kit.

Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) published the guide in response to the WEEE Directive which has stuttered and stalled and suffered set-back after set-back but now looks set for a June 2006 launch.

The Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Directive will require the environmentally friendly disposal of all high-tech kit and MoFo is warning this may lead to higher prices as manufacturers pass on costs they will incur.

The MoFo guidances warns: "Spare a moment of thought for producers and retailers. The draft Regulations... and other green initiatives are having a fundamental impact on the life-cycle management of producers and retailers alike.

"Although the greatest financial and administrative burden will fall to producers, this may end up being translated into a one per cent to four per cent cost increase on the price of a product."

But as well as picking up the bill for the regulations users and businesses will also have to walk a fine line of legal compliance.

"Quite apart from the price of products, a business user will not be able to throw old equipment into the bin or onto a refuse tip if it wants to avoid fines and criminal sanctions."

And simply not getting caught is not an option according to MoFo.

It adds: "Less obviously, a business user may be directly on the hook for failing to keep records and to report compliance to the relevant supervisory authorities."

However, enforcement will prove a major issue, warned MoFo, especially as the affected users will be in Europe while the majority of manufacturers will be in the US and Asia.

The guidance says: "On a practical side, the whole scheme will need to be enforced and not just in the UK. It is currently not wholly clear how the UK will fund the resources and channels needed to enforce the regulations in cross-border supply or US import arrangements, for example. Clearly, further DTI guidance is desirable in this area.

"Looking at the UK proposals, it can be appreciated that producers and business users alike will need to implement careful accounting measures that have regard to the potential asset retirement costs associated with historical waste."