Supply Chain Reaction

I’m borrowing a feature headline I used back in August 2005 for this blog entry. Unfortunately, more than a year later, the headline still rings true.

WEEE -- the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment regulation among the European Union’s 25 member states that enforces electronics and electrical product recycling and comes into play this month -- has followed the same path that all environmental compliance legislation seems to be on, one of complications, confusion and chaos. Just like EU RoHS, facts weren’t firmed up until the last minute; members of the electronics supply chain are confused on their roles; and I’m placing my bet that the majority of companies will not comply right off the bat.

But I don’t blame supply chain companies. I blame the EU member states. Businesses have been screaming for education on the recycling regulations for years now and continue to require information. Taking the U.K. as an example, immediate action requirements call for producers of electrical and electronic equipment in England and Wales to join an approved WEEE compliance scheme by March 15. Then, each compliance scheme will have until March 31 to register its members with the U.K. Environment Agency, which will issue each producer a WEEE producer registration number. That number will have to be given to anyone who distributes or sells a producer’s products. Responsibility for electrical and electronic equipment product marking and provision of treatment information will be placed on producers starting April 1. And all this leads up to July 1, when producers of electrical and electronic equipment will be responsible for paying for the treatment and recycling of products at the end of their life.

So when did the U.K.’s Department of Trade and Industry publish guidance notes online on WEEE, spreading information to the masses?  February, yup, just last month, allowing the mass supply chain mere weeks with the guidance information before the compliance phases begin.

Think about how you run your business. If your chief strategy officer walked into a board meeting on February 28 and detailed a massive plan of action that would begin to take affect two weeks later, how would your company react? I suspect they would question the CSO’s role at the company. Unfortunately, while you could remove the CSO from his post, you can’t fire EU member states.

The sad truth here is -- just like with every other environmental compliance regulation out there -- education and information has to be sought out, and it is up to each individual member of the supply chain to know where they stand. If you haven’t done so already, read the WEEE documents and begin digesting them.

Tell me your thoughts on WEEE. Are the regulations reasonable? Will you and your supply chain be ready come July 1?