At its last meeting, UKCRA members discussed the issues surrounding the WEEE directive and its effects on remanufacturing, specifically in regards to suspicions that certain electronic chips were again becoming too sophisticated so as to prevent remanufacturing.
The association believes that the WEEE directive (Waste of Electronic and Electrical Equipment), which has been challenged by the OEMs before in the European parliament, is once more being abused, and they are seeking the support of Davies to help prevent this from happening again.
A number of UKCRA members, including chairman Keith Moss, secretary Laura Heywood, and members Andy Mayfield and Neil Coulton, will be meeting with Davies on Friday 26 November at his constituency office in Stockport.
Davies has previously worked alongside both UKCRA and ETIRA to help the remanufacturing industry attempt to change the wording of the WEEE directive, and the associations are seeking his influence to prevent the OEMs from any further infringement.
Keith Moss, chairman of UKCRA, said: “Our previous work with Chris and the government gave us an open door agreement on the WEEE directive, where the government said that if any problems should arise they would review the situation.
“The current situation with chips, particularly those on the Lexmark E350 cartridges, is showing that they are far more complicated than before, and UKCRA hopes that in starting with Chris that he can then force the issue further up the line in Europe.
“UKCRA is also hoping to talk to Chris about compatibles and the EUP standard, as a line was drawn at the industry conference in Barcelona, with the industry and remanufacturers on one side and compatible cartridge manufacturers on the other. As an industry, we need to be careful of the risks that compatibles bring.”
UKCRA, alongside ETIRA, the European remanufacturer’s association, has sought through many years of campaigning to get such standards as the forthcoming EPEAT standard amended for the provision of cartridges.