Perspectives on the environment

Never has this been more true than in the case of two new pieces of environmental legislation currently being proposed - the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive.

The impetus behind these pieces of legislation is the growing waste problem in the European Union (EU). Each year, 1.3 billion tonnes of waste is produced within the EU's boundaries, amounting to around 530 kg of waste per person.

Municipal waste material has increased by 19% over the past few years, and is the fastest-growing of all the waste streams.

Restricting hazardous substances

In the eyes of the British security industry, the RoHS Directive has the clearest consequences of the two pieces of legislation. It aims to restrict the use of six hazardous substances in the manufacturing of certain electrical and electronic products. Those substances are used in many manufacturing processes, including soldering, anti-corrosion coating and within flame retardants used in plastics, etc.

Restricting the use of these substances means that there will be a change in the manufacturing processes. In turn, this will have consequences for the cost of the end product. The equipment covered by the RoHS Directive is, in the main, for domestic and business use.

This legislation comes into force in the UK on 1 July, and it's safe to say that manufacturers in the security sector are now well-prepared for its introduction.

Waste electrical/electronic equipment

The introduction of the WEEE Directive continues to be a far more tumultuous issue. The Directive deals with the disposal of electrical and electronic equipment at the end of its working life, aiming to ensure that as much of that equipment as possible is recycled or re-used (and that any hazardous material within the equipment is disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner).

However, the implementation of the Directive has now been delayed three times. It's not likely to come into being until at least 1 January 2007.

The BSIA is currently in the process of applying for exemption from the Directive for security equipment as the Association feels that such equipment is listed under the heading of ‘fixed installations' (and is therefore exempt). The Association is now lobbying the Department of Trade and Industry to reach a decision on this matter in order to save the security sector from what could very easily be unnecessary regulation.