Businesses in the Middle East are making WEEE harder for themselves says Motorola

With goods being recycled, disassembled or resold upon return, many manufacturers want to ensure that they make the sorting and returns process as easy as possible. Whilst the WEEE initiative primarily affects manufacturers; wholesalers, retailers and non-household users of electronic equipment also have certain obligations.

David Barnes, product marketing manager, EMEA at Motorola's Enterprise Mobility business said: "The WEEE initiative has the potential to place a heavy burden on manufacturers, many of which already operate in competitive, lean industries. With the volume of electrical goods sold every year continuing to grow, there will be corresponding growth in the pressure on manufacturers. Quickly and easily being able to identify a product, its constituents, and whether or not it can be recycled, will become increasingly important over the next few years if companies are to manage the costs of WEEE without a significant impact on their profits."

Businesses have long understood the value of creating unique marks on products so that they can be identified simply during their manufacture and delivery, which has driven the ubiquity of bar codes on packaging. However, consumers frequently cut off tags or throw away the wrapping from purchases and, from this point on, the bar codes are lost. And, because, these identifying marks are suitable only until the point of purchase, they are not effective for tracking more industrial-level products such as car parts, which suffer from wear and tear in harsh environments.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that what manufacturers require to solve this problem is a form of identification which can mark and carry data about the product or component throughout all of its lifespan," said Barnes.

"Faster identification of products will reduce storage time and quickly allow businesses to see what needs to be recycled, what needs to be safely destroyed and what can be passed on to component manufacturers. One solution to these problems is direct part marking (DPM)."

DPM works by etching, lasering or spraying a data matrix directly onto the product. This matrix is a code that stores information about the product, helping those capable of reading the code to track pertinent data across the manufacturing cycle.

"DPM provides a permanent marking solution that ensures readability throughout the life of products - even when subjected to harsh environments during the manufacturing process," said Barnes.

"So, no matter how long a product has been used, when it returns, the DPM mark will be intact. And that means an easier task when it comes to following WEEE."