The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive enjoyed its first anniversary yesterday and as such it is surprising that awareness of the directive remains fairly low, particularly among small businesses.

In fact, a recent Dell/FSB Green IT survey revealed that over 20 per cent of respondents did not know if WEEE applied to them. But despite this lack of awareness responsible IT disposal is a legal requirement today and there are certain steps businesses have to take to ensure they stay within the law.

Thankfully, the WEEE directive is not particularly onerous to end users and places the bulk of the responsibility for compliance and safe disposal of end of life equipment on manufacturers and importers. However, there are a number of steps businesses can take to ensure they are compliant.

Your first port of call should be the manufacturer of your unwanted Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) who in most cases will collect the kit and ensure it is disposed of correctly. Under the legislation, manufacturers who are registered members of a Producer Compliance Scheme are responsible for financing the costs associated with the safe disposal of WEEE so it is wise to check that all your new purchases of EEE are from members of such schemes.

However, there may be some instances – such as if EEE was purchased before August 2005 and you are not purchasing a new product – where end-user organisations are responsible for disposal themselves. If so, recycling through an approved authorised treatment facility is an alternative.

Alternatively, selling or donating unwanted EEE through a recognised or accredited channel is another option.

Taking these simple steps should ensure your firm is fully compliant with WEEE directive. However, there are a number of additional steps that should be taken to ensure you do not fall foul of data protection laws, by removing all sensitive data from the machines you are disposing of.

This can often be done by the authorised treatment facility handling the recycling and disposal of the kit, but again it is always best to check.

Thankfully, a year in to the WEEE directive there are encouraging signs that end-user organisations are becoming more aware of the need for the environmentally appropriate disposal of old EEE. Sadly, however, this awareness is not yet universal and as such it is up to manufacturers and the government to continue this education process and remind businesses to do their bit to ensure all their IT equipment is disposed of in an appropriate manner.

Jonathan Perry is Take Back Programme Manager for the UK & Benelux at IT company Dell