WEEE directive - what does it mean to a small company?
Discussion
So, say a small distribution company imports electronic goods from Asia and resells them to end-users and through dealers all over Europe.
What is the importer's responsibility in regards to WEEE registration?
How about the importer's resellers in other EU countries? Is WEEE solely the reseller's responsibility or does the importer need to do something?
The documentation on this is predictably vague and the law varies from country to country from what I can tell.
Is it going to be a real problem for small importers reselling goods from Asian manufacturers who are invariably not WEEE registered?
What is the importer's responsibility in regards to WEEE registration?
How about the importer's resellers in other EU countries? Is WEEE solely the reseller's responsibility or does the importer need to do something?
The documentation on this is predictably vague and the law varies from country to country from what I can tell.
Is it going to be a real problem for small importers reselling goods from Asian manufacturers who are invariably not WEEE registered?
I've spent a bit more time looking at this and from what I can tell this directive has not been a great success.
I'm sure if I speak to one of the licensed schemes they are going to tell me I must join as it's in their interests for me to do so. However, from what I can see there is a large number of companies who should be registered but haven't bothered.
This is probably because there has been very little information circulated to businesses about why and how to join a scheme and what the benefits are and also I suspect that companies who do not registered are unlikely to face any penalty or even a reminder letter because there are insufficient resources in place to handle this.
I think the idea was good but the implementation has been dreadful. I can't see any motivation for a small business joining a scheme at the moment unless they have customers who take the stance they won't buy from you unless you are registered.
There is also the added complication that if you sell B2C to other member states, you have to register in every country you sell to. That places an unreasonable financial burden on small businesses selling very small amounts of WEEE abroad.
Anyone else got a view on all of this?
I'm sure if I speak to one of the licensed schemes they are going to tell me I must join as it's in their interests for me to do so. However, from what I can see there is a large number of companies who should be registered but haven't bothered.
This is probably because there has been very little information circulated to businesses about why and how to join a scheme and what the benefits are and also I suspect that companies who do not registered are unlikely to face any penalty or even a reminder letter because there are insufficient resources in place to handle this.
I think the idea was good but the implementation has been dreadful. I can't see any motivation for a small business joining a scheme at the moment unless they have customers who take the stance they won't buy from you unless you are registered.
There is also the added complication that if you sell B2C to other member states, you have to register in every country you sell to. That places an unreasonable financial burden on small businesses selling very small amounts of WEEE abroad.
Anyone else got a view on all of this?
shakotan said:
anything exported is exempt also.
What do you mean by this? My understanding is that if I am a producer and I sell to another member state then I have to be registered or at least pay my financial contribution somehow to that state?As the WEEE directive is not harmonised across the EU and every country has their own laws about it, this is proving to be the sticking point for me as my company sells a small number of products to several EU countries and we also have dealers in some countries who will also have to register in order to sell our products to end users.
The rules are (and I'm happy to be corrected on this, but have spoken to the Environment Agency and two licensed WEEE schemes yesterday) that a "producer" is defined as either the manufacturer of the goods or a distributor who imports goods from the manufacturer and then sells them on to consumers.
It's the producer's responsibility to register, so in a case where the manufacturer is outside the EU, they have no need to register and will leave it up to their European distributor. If that distributor sells to another distributor or business in the EU then they need to be covered for B2B and if they sell to consumers they need to be covered for B2C. Most schemes seem to cover both B2B and B2C with the same registration.
Where this whole directive falls down is if a small importer of electrical goods made outside the EU sells to consumers in several EU Member States. There is no provision for this in the UK-based schemes and the Environment Agency just pints you to the EU WEEE website. It's up to the importer to contact all the WEEE schemes in each country they may sell to and register with them.
That's a ridiculous burden on small businesses and guaranteed to deter them from complying. From what I can tell, there is little or no policing of WEEE currently and with only approx. 4000 companies in the UK registered in 2009, they have their work cut out to get the message across and enforce the regulations.
Like I said - a good idea very poorly implemented.
It's the producer's responsibility to register, so in a case where the manufacturer is outside the EU, they have no need to register and will leave it up to their European distributor. If that distributor sells to another distributor or business in the EU then they need to be covered for B2B and if they sell to consumers they need to be covered for B2C. Most schemes seem to cover both B2B and B2C with the same registration.
Where this whole directive falls down is if a small importer of electrical goods made outside the EU sells to consumers in several EU Member States. There is no provision for this in the UK-based schemes and the Environment Agency just pints you to the EU WEEE website. It's up to the importer to contact all the WEEE schemes in each country they may sell to and register with them.
That's a ridiculous burden on small businesses and guaranteed to deter them from complying. From what I can tell, there is little or no policing of WEEE currently and with only approx. 4000 companies in the UK registered in 2009, they have their work cut out to get the message across and enforce the regulations.
Like I said - a good idea very poorly implemented.
Edited by fastfreddy on Saturday 28th November 11:22
Well if the product is manufactured in the Far East, all they have to do over there is slap the wheelie bin & cross symbol on the product.
Once it's landed in the UK, the responsibility to register for WEEE is then whoever places it on the market for the first time there. That entity then becomes the "producer" regardless of the fact they haven't actually manufactured anything.
I can see the schemes probably work well and the fees aren't horrendous, but the whole thing really hasn;t been thought through, especially for small and medium sized distribution businesses who sell both end-user and through dealers.
There must be thousands of small online retailers selling products all over Europe who are either unaware of this directive or dreading the time they get a letter from the EA.
Once it's landed in the UK, the responsibility to register for WEEE is then whoever places it on the market for the first time there. That entity then becomes the "producer" regardless of the fact they haven't actually manufactured anything.
I can see the schemes probably work well and the fees aren't horrendous, but the whole thing really hasn;t been thought through, especially for small and medium sized distribution businesses who sell both end-user and through dealers.
There must be thousands of small online retailers selling products all over Europe who are either unaware of this directive or dreading the time they get a letter from the EA.
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