EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation has welcomed today’s announcement by the UK government that the implementation of the WEEE (Waste, Electronic and Electrical Equipment) Directive will be delayed until June 2006.
EEF has been campaigning for some time for a speedy and effective implementation of the Directive which had already been put back from August this year until January 2006.
However, in the confirmed absence of clear implementation plans from government EEF believes there is now no other option than postponement if companies are to be given the opportunity to understand the full implications of the Directive and make necessary changes to their operations.
Under the Directive, producers of electrical and electronic equipment will be required to recover or recycle a proportion of the equipment they place on the market.
Commenting on the announcement, EEF Director General, Martin Temple, said:
“We have been concerned for some time that this legislation would not be ready in time or, worse still, that it’s implementation would be rushed. As such, the government has taken the only sensible option open to it and this breathing space will give time to plan properly for implementation. In the long term this will give companies more certainty over what their obligations are and how to meet them when the regulations come into force”