Lack of environmental awareness costing businesses

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 12 Feb 2008 at 14:45

NetRegs has warned that businesses could be wasting thousands of pounds a year on disposal of electrical goods due to their ignorance of current environmental regulations.

The environmental body has conducted a survey of 4,489 small to medium businesses across the UK and claims that a staggering 88% are not immediately aware that the responsibility for the disposal of electrical goods manufactured after August 2005 does not lie with them, but the manufacturer.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations were introduced in January 2007 to reduce the amount of electrical waste going to landfill and improve recycling rates.

The regulations have a wide-ranging remit, covering everything from microwaves in office kitchens, washing machines in the home and computer systems in the workplace. It is this scope that NetRegs believes has contributed to ignorance of the regulation among businesses.

"They're so far reaching that businesses don't necessarily think it applies to them," says a NetRegs spokesperson. "They see just one part of it, so they don't realise they benefit. There's a lack of awareness among businesses, and a lack of education on the environmental issues."

For more details on the WEEE regulations visit the site here.