Environmental issues are becoming more important to all of us and your customers are no exception. Many purchasers are now looking for evidence of compliance towards ISO 14001 for Environment Management Systems, the concept of which is a 'cradle to grave' approach to all aspects of business. In general terms this covers all aspects from energy saving in the workplace, selection of eco friendly raw materials through to consideration for the environment at the design stage of a product. Recycling is also part of this overall picture and it can be considered at all stages and areas of a business including, paper/office recycling, packaging recycling and recycling products and/or components at the end of their life.

In the UK we produce 434 Million tonnes of waste every year of which over 70% is sent to landfill sites across the country. Waste is growing at 3% per year and this means 25 years will see a doubling of the amount of waste we produce unless something is done to prevent landfill and promote recycling.

Both the EU and the UK government are addressing our 'waste accumulation' problem with legislation that reduces landfill and promotes re-use, pre-treatment and recycling. These directives include the landfill directive, the packaging directive, the end of life vehicle (ELV) directive and the forthcoming Waste at the end of life for electrical and electronic goods (WEEE) directive, amongst others. Future legislation such as the Energy Using Products (EUP) directive under the umbrella of Integrated Product Policy (IPP) will legislate for the 'life cycle' of electrical products and this will require recycling to be designed into a product.