IT directors slow on WEEE uptake

A quarter of IT directors are unaware of the impact that the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive will have on their business, while some have not even heard of it at all, according to research published last week.

Just 39 per cent of respondents to the survey conducted by eMedia for vendor World Data Products say they understand the directive and its implications – even though it comes into law on 1 January 2007 and must be complied with by July 2007.

But Simon Forge, analyst at IT management specialist Ptak Noel & Associates, says these figures seem optimistic.

‘I think that number sounds low. Most IT directors are faced with so much legislation they don’t realise which laws are important and which ones aren’t. But this is definitely a law they need to be aware of,’ he said.

Forge says businesses have a moral as well as legal obligation to comply with the directive.

‘It is rare that a law carries a moral aspect, but this one does. Not only are businesses going to be in trouble legally if they don’t do something about it, they are ignoring a moral onus,’ he said.

David Southern, head of IT and facilities at wildlife charity WWF, and signatory to the Computing Green Charter, believes that most IT directors have heard of WEEE but need educating about its impact.

‘Most IT directors in the non-government organisation sector are aware of the directive, but maybe not how it will affect them. Education could come in part from working more closely with suppliers,’ he said.

The survey found that 40 per cent of organisations now have a formal policy for reusing IT and networking equipment. A further 25 per cent are using refurbished equipment.

‘Buyers are waking up to the fact that they don’t need to purchase brand new equipment in every single instance,’ said Neil Vill, chief executive of World Data Products.

‘Manufacturers often push upgrades long before equipment has reached the end of its life, and in many cases long before the customer is ready to migrate.’

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