DTI 'dithers' on recycling

The Government will miss its August deadline for introducing new EU laws to force industry to recycle worn-out household appliances, according to Japanese electrical giant Brother.

Under the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive, retailers and local authorities will be required to collect worn-out products such as mobile phones, televisions and computers. These would be handed back to the companies that made them for recycling.

But Mike Dinsdale, the UK marketing director of Brother, warned that Government dithering could undermine the introduction of the directive. "I doubt that the UK will be ready by August. There are just too many anomalies and ambiguities so close to implementation," he said. "Brother has been looking at the directive for quite some time and I'd have thought that the Government would be much further down the line by now."

Mr Dinsdale said it was crucial that the Department of Trade & Industry got its act together because electrical manufacturers are now in their budget years but don't know how much the directive will cost them. "Come August, we don't know what impact it will have on our cash. Ultimately, the consumer will have to pick up some of the bill because of this."

A DTI spokeswoman claimed the directive was on track. "The DTI is well on course to meet the August deadline, which basically entails getting the legislation on the statute books," she said.

Some manufacturers, such as Toshiba, are against the directive, claiming that it will heap unnecessary costs on an industry struggling to make money in the UK. However, Brother supports the WEEE directive. The company is positioning itself as a "green" corporation and in Japan has entirely eliminated its landfill.

The company's chairman, Yoshihiro Yasui, said: "We believe in the WEEE directive and are pleased that the British Government is trying to do something for the environment."