Call for councils to check WEEE arrangements

REPIC has issued advice for councils to use to ensure the scheme that collects waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) from their civic amenity sites is operating according to the regulations.

At REPIC, we are happy to continue to use the incumbent site operators 

 
Phil Morton – chief executive, REPIC

The call comes after BERR and Defra wrote to producer compliance schemes in July 2008, warning that action could be taken against schemes that over or under-collected evidence against their member's recycling obligations.

And, two weeks ago, the Environment Agency's policy adviser for WEEE, Adrian Harding, said that schemes applying for reapproval next year would need to demonstrate that, by the end of 2009, they would have found a balance between being able to access evidence and meeting the obligation of their members, without relying on trading (see letsrecycle.com story).

REPIC, one of a number of schemes supplying WEEE services, has now called on councils to “double-check” how their contracted PCS is working, explaining that it is “keen to eliminate any disruption occurring in the UK WEEE collections network” if a scheme loses its approval status.

Among the 10 points it advises them to check are the scheme's capacity to take all of a site's WEEE within its conditions of approval, which reprocessors the scheme deals with and, the scheme's financial stability.

Approval

The company said it “is in a position to work with more local authorities and their current service providers, to collect the amount of WEEE required by its members without breaching its approval conditions”.

During the 2007 compliance period, REPIC was affected by the fact that, despite having membership made up of some of the largest EEE manufacturers, it had access to a relatively low number of collection sites to meet their recycling obligations.

As a result, it was involved in lengthy negotiations with rival scheme Electrolink before striking a deal to acquire evidence in March 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story).

And, it was thought to be one of a number of schemes that ended the compliance period short of the evidence it needed to meet its member's final WEEE recycling obligations (see letsrecycle.com story).

Dr Philip Morton, REPIC's chief executive explained why the organisation thought it was important that councils look into their current arrangements with a PCS. “Local authorities should not be afraid to ask questions of their existing PCS or a potentially new scheme,” he said.

“It is vital that your current or potential PCS is able to accept the estimated volume of WEEE it has committed to collect from your sites without breaking its conditions of approval, so asking these questions now will give you peace of mind,” he added.

And, he outlined what councils could do if they believed there was a problem, explaining that: “It is important for local authorities to know that there are options available if any issues are brought to light.

“They can either source a new PCS with the capacity to take on the sites' WEEE, or enter into a sharing agreement between the existing scheme and other PCSs, to split the obligation over two or more operators.

“At REPIC, we are happy to continue to use the incumbent site operators so local authorities see no change at all to their normal service,” he added.