19 Feb 2009
The Environment Agency announced yesterday that a man had been arrested as part of a crackdown on the illegal export of e-waste from Britain to the developing world.
The 46-year-old from West Sussex was released on bail until 5 May.
Further reading
E-waste has been high on the media agenda with a joint investigation between the Independent, Sky News and Greenpeace finding that 23,000 tonnes of computers are being dumped illegally in Africa every year from the UK, in violation of the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.
The Environment Agency also said it was increasing it efforts to intercept e-waste as it leaves Britain and had prevented 33 cargo containers of electrical goods from leaving the UK in the past six months.
The arrest was the first by the agency's new environmental crime unit.
Louise Richards, chief executive of Computer Aid International, which promotes the re-use of old IT equipment in developing countries, welcomed the news.
"We can only hope the arrest made in February 2009 is the first of many, as there is a lot to be done to stem the flow of e-waste at the source," she said.
"While detaining 33 cargo containers is an excellent start, we must remember there are at least 23,000 tonnes of computers illegally exported from the UK every year."
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive may be touted as a cost for suppliers, but unless organisations get their asset registers in order, it will also create a significant cost for UK business. The disposal of commercial IT equipment need not be a complicated headache. The key to WEEE compliance lies in a well managed asset register.
Such policies as WEEE assume a level of asset management far beyond that achieved by the majority of UK business. Unless supplying a like for like replacement, suppliers will only remove and dispose of equipment they have delivered initially. How many UK businesses can accurately identify the location of their WEEE equipment within the organisation and confirm when it was purchased and from whom? Without such information, just which company do they expect to handle the free disposal?
Organisations need to implement sound asset disposal procedures. Linking the asset register to a document management system will ensure a scanned WEEE certificate is linked to a disposed asset, providing the required audit trail. Each asset can be recorded alongside the supplier?s name and email address, enabling swift supplier contact when disposal is due.
UK business is already complaining about excessive red tape, perhaps why the WEEE Directive introduction in July 2007 was so downplayed. But a belief that the onus of WEEE is firmly on equipment suppliers could be an expensive mistake.
Yours faithfully,
Karen Conneely
Group Commercial Manager
Real Asset Management
Central Court
Knoll Rise
Orpington
Kent
BR6 0JA
01689 892100
www.realassetmgt.co.uk
Posted by: Karen Conneely 20 Feb 2009
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