Q & A WITH ANTHONY SANT, AO

Government is looking at bringing in new rules about how old kitchen appliances are dealt with in order to protect the environment. Please explain what is happening.

Businesses, large and small, have faced challenges we cannot even have imagined 18 months ago. We have had to adapt almost every aspect of our operating models. But while we had little time to prepare for the changes of the pandemic, we do have opportunity to prepare for major environmental changes set to impact on any business dealing with electrical appliances.

Within the next few years, it looks like changes will be introduced. The government will be making all retailers of electrical items, including kitchen retailers and suppliers, responsible for collecting and safely disposing for recycling of any electrical appliance removed from a home when supplying or fitting new appliances as part of a kitchen installation. As one of the largest electricals retailer in the UK, we’re working hard to prepare for these changes. However, we know from working in the kitchen sector that the changes are not widely known or understood, so many small retailers, suppliers and installers will be unaware of how they could be affected. We can’t lose sight of the fact that most of these old electrical items contain hazardous parts and substances and we all have a responsibility to prevent these from escaping into the environment due to substandard or uncontrolled disposals.

Prior to joining AO business, I worked in the recycling sector for more than a decade and have worked first-hand with the existing rules and legislation that govern how old electrical appliances are recycled. 

The kitchen sector looks set to be faced with a number of environmental legislative changes and regulations. What do these potential changes look like? The kitchen sector needs to be made aware of environmental changes to regulations and legislation being introduced over the next two to three years – known as Extended Producer Responsibility. The Government basically wants to increase the recycling levels of old kitchen appliances and cut the number of appliances being illegally disposed of, by making it the duty of the retailer to ensure these items end up with responsible processors. If a fridge, for example is not recycled correctly, harmful gases escape into the environment. Regulations to manage how old appliances are recycled have been in place now for more than 15 years. However, changes to these regulations could see the responsibility placed on kitchen retailers to collect for recycling any old appliances removed during the installation process. This will mean old appliances can no longer be left for removal by the homeowners, local authorities or third parties. They will have to be collected for recycling with an approved recycling plant. We know from working with kitchen retailers that, often, the old appliances removed are left in skips on driveways, which are targeted by unscrupulous scrap metal dealers. Why do they do it? There is value in old appliances when they don’t have to deal with the hazardous components correctly, but the valuable components have to be removed responsibly or the environment suffers. Only regulated recycling plants are legally allowed to carry out this work.

We know from our experience of operating within the existing rules and regulations that the sector cannot adapt to these changes overnight and will need to spend time preparing. These changes are not unique to this sector – all suppliers of electrical appliances, big and small, will have to take more responsibility for recycling. 

What experience does AO have of working within environmental regulations and rules? We operate in line with the existing rules and regulations laid down by Government for dealing with the problem of recycling old appliances. As a responsible retailer, we collect the old appliances from customers when delivering a new one through our own logistics network. However, we are unusual in that four years ago we opened our own fridge and large appliance recycling plant. Why did we do this? We knew the majority of existing plants in the UK were not operating up to the correct standard, so we created a plant that meets legislative and regulatory requirements. For us, it has been about doing the right thing and, through responsible recycling, we have now recycled around two million fridges. The changes coming from Government will also impact on us, in particular, the way we collect and recycle old appliances. But we are not starting from a standing start and have been preparing for the anticipated changes for several years. We are now working with our customers in different sectors and their trade bodies to see how we can share our knowledge and experience to minimise the impact of the proposed changes. What are the next steps? The Government is set to carry out a consultation about the changes later this year. The exact changes have not been finalised, but the Government has been very clear in its intentions. I would urge retailers to take a look at the consultation when it goes lives. At the same time the sector needs to start thinking about how it will adapt its processes for meeting the regulations and should certainly not leave the preparation too late.

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