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dd Waste disposal and environmental management of
Page 42
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waste products is notably absent from most supply chains, However, several pieces of European legislation, including the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Restriction Of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directives, will come into force in part in 2004.
These two regulations will have a significant impact on the way that manufacturers deal with end-of-life electronic and electrical equipment. Just as manufacturers will become responsible for considering the issues of environmental disposal at the point of manufacture. so they will also need to dispose of all end-of-life products that they have manufactured.
This represents a huge challenge for manufacturers and their logistics partners Manufacturers and logistics providers must first know exactly how the legislation is going to apply to them.
it's worth noting that although the manufacturer's liability can be passed on as an obligation through the distribution channel, liability will still ultimately be held by the manufacturer.
Hauliers must be aware of the potential differences between delivering new goods and collecting returns. Unlike new items, returns will not be ready-packaged and boxed.
Data may also need erasing from machines to a level that will ensure customer confidence. Manufacturers will need to work with retailers and transport operators to organise how best these products can be returned and recycled, whether it be through collection points, new-for-old schemes or drop-off points.
Manufacturers will also want to be certain that the product they are collecting is actually their responsibility. This will require the haulier to maintain accurate records at the initial delivery point to track products throughout their lifecycle.
Serial number tracking will ensure that the manufacturer can be sure which products were shipped where.
Once the goods have been collected, hauliers will need a clear strategy of how to deal with this vast increase in items passing back into the supply chain. The more cost-efficient the strategy, the less likely the manufacturer is to pass the extra on to the consumer.
A percentage of the machines returned will still have intrinsic value (which can be realised through clever re-use and remarketing) while others can be broken down and recycled.
The logistics companies that will win in the race to be green are those that can put in place efficient ways of dealing with those products that actually make money, or at least pay for themselves.
Unless they put these systems in place and test them now, many will be caught completely unprepared when the legislation is enforced.
Given increasing demands for green services from consumers and businesses, companies that are perceived to have environmentally-sound processes can reap huge benefits. But without this foresight, many companies are actually missing out on a massive opportunity.