EEE Retailing and HHW

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EEE Retailingand HHW
Vivien Williams Public Affairs Manager
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Introduction - DSGi

• Europe's leading specialist electrical retailer
• Present in 14 countries
• Employing approximately 40,000 employees.
• Operating against a backdrop of stakeholders with
  growing expectations and awareness, and, greater
  regulatory control.

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Introduction - DSGi

• A complex business -
• We specify, source, buy, move and sell products
  (including consumables) in packaging
• Via 1,400 stores and the internet
• And offer an increasing range of end of life
  take back services

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Potential hazardousness
Three focus areas regarding hazardousness -
1. Constituent substances (i.e. within
merchandise) 2. Indirect waste (i.e. from store
operations) 3. Waste products (i.e. received via
take back)
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Constituent substances

• Understanding this is a challenge and, within
  this, there are many interpretations of hazard
  risk.
• Activities include
• Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations
• RoHS Regulations
• Increasing understanding of substance use

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Constituent substances

• Packaging (Essential Requirement) Regulations
• set maximum concentrations for specific
  substances in packaging.
• We
• Inform/remind suppliers of the requirements
• Require a completed packaging breakdown form
  from suppliers, per product
• Require a declaration of compliance and
  accredited lab test certificate, per product

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Constituent substances

• RoHS requirements, due to come into force in July
  (06), introduce maximum concentration levels for
  specific substances in electrical products.
• We have
• An ongoing process with suppliers to inform
  them of the requirements, amendments and
  exemptions
• Testing/checking procedures in place.

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Indirect wastes
Certain wastes that arise as a result of
day-to-day store activity are considered
hazardous, for example - lighting, refrigerants,
photo-lab chemicals and batteries. In the UK,
Currys, Dixons and PC World all have separate
bins in-store for spent batteries used for
demonstration purposes.
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Waste products

• Across DSGi a range of customer service
  activities are in place to manage, recycle and
  safely dispose of waste products, for example
• White goods
• TVs/screens
• Phones
• Inkjets

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Waste products
WEEE is obviously a particular focus at the
moment. Some experience in other countries
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Retail responsibility case studies

• In Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland Iceland
  (174 stores)
• Take back in store, promoted by store
• WEEE removed by producer scheme
• In 2004 Norway alone separately collected
  56,000
• tonnes of WEEE, 12 was via Elkjop.

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Retail responsibility case studies

• In the Republic of Ireland (16 stores)
• Mandatory take back at store, onerous consumer
  information
• requirements
• WEEE removed from larger sites by one or other
  producer
• scheme (minimum volumes set by schemes)
• Environmental management cost (EMC) charged
• Steady take-back to date

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Retail responsibility case studies

• In Hungary (5 stores)
• Take back in store above minimum sales area
• WEEE removed by schemes
• Lower fee to retailer if certain collected in
  relation to sales
• Low-level take-back to date

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Conclusions

• The issue of hazardous waste represents a
  significant challenge because
• of the complexities of the supply chain
• and
• of the range of interpretations and perceptions
  of hazard
• However, our ambition is to grow our
  understanding, adopt and develop best practice
  and offer value added services to our customers.