Compliance scheme mounts WEEE collection drive

The scheme is seeking to collect WEEE from as many council sites as possible under the new producer responsibility regulations.

However, schemes who wait until the end of the year to buy recycling evidence from Electrolink will be charged additional costs to cover the interest payments that Electrolink will have to pay in hosting the recycling evidence until the year end.

Sites

Collection containers have now gone out to council civic amenity sites in West Sussex, where Electrolink has a flagship partnership with county contractor Viridor Waste Management.

Along with West Sussex, Electrolink could also be involved in WEEE collections from as many as 100 other sites around the UK managed by Viridor – and is also arranging partnerships with other CA site operators that could see just as many non-Viridor sites on the Electrolink system.

The partnership approach will mean the existing contractual arrangements between councils and site operators remain unchanged, with any additional costs from treating WEEE to the regulation standards met by Electrolink.

Significantly, this means any scrap value for collected items remaining with the council or site operator under the existing contracts. The compliance scheme will audit the system, but believes with this approach councils will be more diligent in their issuing of recycling evidence.

Evidence

The arrangements will mean Electrolink securing significantly more recycling evidence than needed by its own producer members. The scheme's members have a 0.52% share of the household electronics market and a 2.86% share of the non-household electronics market according to Environment Agency figures.

But the scheme, which is run by compliance company Wastepack with financial backing from its majority owners Duke Street Capital, has pointed to the regulations as allowing its approach.

Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Wastepack chairman Barry Van Danzig explained: “Much has been said recently about the allocation of DCFs and restricting local authorities from working with various schemes. These statements have caused confusion in some areas. It is a free market. Local authorities and the CA site operators can work with any scheme they choose to. There are no restrictions on how many sites a compliance scheme can operate.

“In terms of technical capability, financial resources and waste and recycling experience Electrolink is one of the largest, if not the largest, compliance schemes in the UK,” Mr Van Danzig added.

While the Department for Trade and Industry has told schemes it will be monitoring them to ensure they are not “holding the market to ransom” with respect to the over-collecting of WEEE compared to their members' obligations, there has been no definition or limits set for what will be acceptable.

It is understood that officials within the DTI are likely to see how the first six-month compliance period unfolds before any possible moves to look more closely at the kind of business plan Electrolink is developing under the WEEE Regulations.

Interest

Commenting on Electrolink's trading of surplus evidence to other producer compliance schemes, Mr Van Danzig said: “We will be providing evidence of compliance to our members and other schemes at the same price and terms and conditions.

“Where Schemes prefer to wait until the year end clearing house we shall provide the cash flow funding but naturally those schemes will be charged the interest charges to cover this debt.”

Viridor

In West Sussex, the roll out of collection containers for the five categories of WEEE is now “well under way” after starting on May 21, according to Viridor Waste Management.

Staff have been trained to separate the different WEEE types – and also to keep business WEEE separate from household items.

Bill Griffiths, national recycling manager for Viridor, claimed some other producer compliance schemes “may be ill-prepared” for July 1 in getting preparations for collection sites in place in time.

Mr Griffiths warned that logistical demands of clearing sites – especially during Bank Holiday weekends – “cannot be underestimated” and that some schemes were ignoring the true costs of handling WEEE separately from scrap metal.

During its initial roll-out, Viridor has found that significantly more small domestic appliances is being handed in by householders than had been expected – with some sites taking in nearly twice the tonnage of small domestic appliances as fridges.

Mr Griffiths said: “With this capture rate likely to increase post-July 1 following associated media coverage of WEEE implementation, I would question whether some producer compliance schemes have adequate resources in place to meet this significant logistical demand.”