Like many industries in the UK the weighing industry is waiting (and has been for some time) for the publication of the Regulations implementing the WEEE Directive. For those of you who have forgotten what this is about, and who can blame you after all this time, the WEEE Directive deals with the removal of waste electrical equipment from the market place. The idea is that waste electrical /electronic equipment should be re-used or recycled wherever possible, and that it should not find its way into landfill at the end of its useful life. The overall principle in the Directive is that it is the "producer" who should pay the costs of safe removal of the product from the market.
One of the options that producers will have to do to ensure they meet their legal obligations will be to join a Compliance Scheme. A number of schemes are already in existence, others are planned. However because the implementing regulations have still not yet been published none of them can give any real indication of what the registration costs and financial obligations will be. At this stage therefore it is probably worthwhile holding back from joining a scheme until there is more information on likely costs.
What we can be almost certain of is that "producers", be they manufacturers, importers, or brand owners will have to provide when registering. The weight and number of products placed on the UK market during the previous year. Supplying this data will be compulsory, and it will have to be split into one of two categories, Business to Consumer sales and Business to Business sales. Whilst we do not have any detailed knowledge of any forthcoming regulations we can be sure the arrangements for Business to Consumer products will be different to those for Business to Business products. There is a memo and simple survey form enclosed with this edition of Weighlog which should give you some idea of the data you will need to supply at the time of registration.
As soon as there is any news on the regulations we will bring it to you; so check the UKWF web-site regularly for updates. | 
