Distributors are encouraging vendors not based in Ireland to register with the Irish regulatory authority so that their partners do not have to take responsibility for the recycling and disposal of their equipment.
Brian Honan, managing director of Osmosis, revealed he had approached all the distributor’s suppliers and asked them to register so they could assume producer responsibilities for their products in Ireland.
“I’ve spoken to all our vendors and all of them have agreed to join WEEE Ireland except for two. I was surprised at how many had signed up by themselves,” he said. “They have agreed in writing to accept all responsibility for their product. Resellers will bring it to us and I will keep it here and the vendors will collect it on a monthly basis.”
Michael Callaghan, managing director at CMS Ireland, said the distributor had been involved in “similar conversations with all of our vendors and everybody has registered bar one”.
Meanwhile, moves by the European Recycling Platform – a waste recycling and disposal consortium which includes HP and Sony – to define a common position with the Global Technical Distribution Council, which numbers many of the biggest distributors among its members, have stalled.
ERP had hoped to resolve the issue by the time the directive was introduced, but John Hays, HP EMEA compliance programmes manager, admitted there had been little progress.
On another front, one of the founding members of WEEE Ireland, Dell, revealed last month it was evaluating other options, including operating its own scheme or joining the European Recycling Platform.
The direct vendor said it was deciding the best structure to manage all its “commitments and responsibilities in relation to the environment in general and WEEE specifically. This may be done through membership of an external body or Dell may amend its internal structures to ensure effective management of all aspects”.
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