As part of our preparations for dealing with the requirements of the WEEE directive, EOLS has now submitted its application to the Environment Agency (EA) to become an Approved Authorised Treatment Facility (AATF). As well as holding a waste management license, it is now a requirement that any treatment facility dealing with WEEE is required to have an AATF license from the EA along with payment of the appropriate fees. Evidence of re-use and refurbishment of equipment also counts towards the industries recovery and recycling targets.

The deadline for submissions was the 13th April 2007 – unlucky for some but not for EOLS as our submission was received by the EA in good time. This deadline was set to allow all applications to be approved by the EA prior to the start of the 'producer responsibility' WEEE requirements commencing on July 1st 2007.

Producers of Electrical & Electronic Equipment (EEE) are required by law to join a 'compliance scheme'. Normal business users of EEE are required to use companies such as EOLS (who hold a waste management license and in the future, an AATF license) to dispose of their redundant WEEE. In this way, businesses can be sure their equipment is being handled in an environmentally responsible manner. In fact, every business has a 'duty of care' to ensure that they are using a company such as EOLS - with all the correct accreditations. If not, they can be taken to court by the EA and fined considerable sums.

Richard Parker, MD of EOLS, said "I get very frustrated when we contact companies to discuss how they deal with their waste, only to be told 'a man in a van collects it'. With the legislative requirements now placed on companies, such as ours, to deal with waste in an environmentally friendly best practice manner, general businesses need to be demanding the certification from their suppliers that proves  they are authorised to perform the service they provide. If they don't, they are the ones who will end up in court along with the service provider".

(For up to date legislation news please go to our web site:  http://www.end-o-line.co.uk/environment-legislation.html)

Jan Smith, Chairman of EOLS, recently visited Kenya on holiday - she was shocked by what she saw.

Jan said "Nothing prepares you for this!"  Jan goes on to say "I am sure people will remember the film that TV presenters Ant & Dec prepared for Comic Relief in March about Kenya. They featured a shanty village housing over a million people, most of whom are dying from Aids.  I was in Kenya at the time on holiday.  I ventured outside the resort and within one mile I was able to see this situation for myself.  I visited schools and orphanages and was touched by what I saw.  My immediate reaction was one of anger that these human beings are living and dying like this.  While we can all be very vocal in our opinions about this dreadful situation, I want to be active in making things happen."

Since returning from Kenya, Jan has made contact with the Trustees of the S.O.H. Orphanage, Kenya, who are based in Berlin, Germany, and she is visiting them shortly to put a positive plan together to see how we can help.  By "WE" we mean EOLS.  However, as Jan says: "I hope that our clients will support us in attempting to make a difference."

We will keep you up-dated with progress.

EOLS will be exhibiting at the Ideal Business Exhibition (formerly B2B) at Earls Court on 26th and 27th June. We will be on stand 212 and our team will be on hand to provide information and to answer any questions you might have.

Why not call us now to make an appointment as, if previous exhibitions are to go by, we will be very busy and really would not want to miss you!