The WEEE directive has nothing to do with pushing your kid on a swing. WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The WEEE directive became law in Europe on the 13th of February 2003 and was aimed at decreasing the problem of electrical and electronic equipment waste. This directive promotes the recycling and reuse of electronic and electrical equipment. Producers were made responsible for treating, recycling, or taking back the equipment.

Photocopiers play a big role in the WEEE directive as they do with the problem of global warming. An increase in energy saving and waste reduction is now taking place thanks to the new technology of energy efficient photocopiers. The old copiers are playing a big part as well, as they can now no longer be discarded into a landfill as used to be the case.

Photocopiers are the most commonly found piece of office equipment, and play a major role in increasing energy efficiency in the workplace. The consequent greenhouse gas emissions are only part of the concern, as a photocopier also must deal with the issue of paper usage along with energy consumption. Since the copier was using energy even when not in use, this was an issue that also needed to be addressed.

The new technology developed in copiers now being produced come with an “energy saving” mode which will power down the photocopier when not in use, and save over 60 percent on the energy it takes to run the machine. The new “on demand” fusing system is another energy saving feature and takes into account two important components of the photocopier. Rather than a halogen heater a ceramic heating element is used, and instead of a quick heating roller the new copiers will have a thin fixing film. This means lower heat requirements and better energy efficiency. These new copiers can also go from sleep mode to fully operational in under ten seconds, as opposed to this taking over a minute with the older photocopiers.

When put together with the growing availability of double sided copying and printing, the new photocopier technology will be one of the leaders in energy efficiency going forward. The world of office equipment will never be the same, and for once this is something positive.