WEEE breathing space for suppliers

The deadline for WEEE compliance is for UK moved from August this year to January 2006. The RoHS Directive implemetation date remains July 1 2006 and WEEE collection and recycling targets are to be met on december 31 2006. Recycling body REPIC demands that reatailers should be compelled to display WEEE levies separately on price tags but this was rejected by the British Retail Consortium. "We are not supportive of visible fees," Nigel Smith, a director of the BRC, told EW. Uncertainty of pricing is according to Smith one reason for rejection. "What price should be displayed, they [REPIC members] have not come to me with any sound estimates on what it will be?" Customer relations is another reason. "There is too much information around price tickets already," he said. "Consumers should be able to see that they are paying a recycling fee for legitimate WEEE-related costs of old products and know that it is ring-fenced entirely for that purpose," said REPIC chief executive, Dr Philip Morton.