Wayne Copley, procurement director and board member of the UK's largest waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) producer compliance scheme, Repic, has been appointed as a member of the WEEELABEX governing council.
WEEELABEX is a not-for-profit organisation made up of 26 WEEE compliance schemes, founded in April 2013 to help implement WEEELABEX standards across Europe. Repic, ERP and Budget Pack are UK founder members of WEEELABEX, which is open to any producer compliance scheme.
The WEEELABEX standards lay down requirements that those involved in the handling, transporting, treating and processing of WEEE must meet, and aim to create a standard level of auditing for WEEE treatment plants, therefore improving WEEE management practices across the EU.
As well as training auditors in the required standards, the WEEELABEX organisation will promote the adoption of the standards by operators and member states. Trained WEEELABEX auditors will be qualified to approve operators' WEEE treatment processes as WEEELABEX processes.
Wayne commented: "Implementing the WEEELABEX standards is a fundamental part of improving the WEEE system, not just in the UK but across Europe. With the transposition of the WEEE Directive Recast well underway, this year will certainly be one of significant change for the WEEE system in all member states and as a member of the WEEELABEX governing council, I'm involved in driving change and continuing to push for improvements.
"The benefits of implementing the WEEELABEX standards will be significant for both treatment facilities and local authorities. It will create a standard, recognised level of auditing meaning that those treatment plants that qualify during audit will be easily recognisable as working to a high standard. This will offer reassurance to local authorities that are looking for a treatment plant that will handle the WEEE correctly."
Dr Philip Morton, CEO of Repic, said: "Since Repic was founded almost ten years ago, we have been heavily involved in ensuring the UK WEEE system operates as efficiently as possible and campaigning for improvements where necessary. By working closely with other stakeholders across the EU that are just as passionate about creating an effective system for the collection and treatment of WEEE, I am confident that the outcome will be positive for all parties involved."
For more information please visit, www.repic.co.uk or www.weee-forum.org/weeelabexproject.