Waste directive abusers will be reported

The Department of the Environment has threatened to "come down hard" on retailers who seek to exploit the new waste disposal charge for profit.

Both the department and the Consumers' Association (CA) said it was too early to say if stores were abusing the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) directive.

A spokesman for Minister for the Environment Dick Roche warned that once the measure had "bedded in", the Minister would bring complaints to the Director of Consumer Affairs about any retailers using the charge to hike up prices.

Many large retailers have snubbed the Minister's suggestion they absorb the costs rather than pass them on to customers. Dixon's Electrical insisted the prescribed charges were far too high.

Spokesman Declan Ronayne said the €20 charge on washing machines should be only €5 and the €2 on toasters should be only 15 cent. He added that Dixons, along with competitors like DID Electrical and Power City, were acting strictly within the law by adding the charge and advising customers on the WEEE.

He claimed other outlets, including supermarket chains, were effectively breaking the law by not displaying any information about the directive.

Among outlets that have so far absorbed the disposal costs, the home improvement chain B & Q said it would not add the WEEE charge to current stocks. On new stock, the company said it would apply its own disposal charge, which would be less than the "nationally agreed rates".

The department said it would monitor the WEEE directive with the CA to ensure additional increases were not sneaked in.

But the Labour Party's Kathleen Lynch TD accused the Minister of having "bungled" the directive, and said the "polluter pays" principle had been lost. "Rather than impose the charge on the producer, he has allowed the large companies who manufacture and sell electrical goods to get away scot-free."