Speaking at a Valpak pre-compliance member meeting at Stratford upon Avon, DTI head of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) implementation Chris Tollady said that ministers were currently involved in a write around among departments over the latest legislative proposals.
” announcement on the implementation timeline, details of a no-frills clearing house and a consultation on agency fees should be made in the next couple of weeks “
– Chris Tollady, DTI
Mr Tollady was speaking in the wake of revelations that there was to be a delay in implementation and the clearing house proposal had been scrapped. The official claimed that the idea of a clearing house lives on although he described it as a no-frills approach.
He said: “An announcement on the implementation timeline, details of a no-frills clearing house and a consultation on agency fees should be made in the next couple of weeks.”
Mr Tollady also said that in the last few days a new proposal for a retailer compliance scheme had been put forward by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
He said: “In the last few days we have had another proposal from the BRC and we will be resuming discussions with them soon. It is key that the BRC helps to provide an adequate collection network in this country.”
According to Mr Tollady the agency fees consultation may not be a full 12 week one. He told letsrecycle.com: “We don't know yet what the length will be, it is only a small element so we have to ask if it warrants 12 weeks.”
Behind
Another of the speakers at the event was Dr Gregor Eckerth from German recycler Inteseroh. The company has been looking into the possibility of a pan-European compliance scheme.
Dr Eckerth explained to the Valpak members that in Europe there were three stages that countries were in with regards to WEEE. “At present the WEEE Directive has been fulfilled in Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Portugal and Slovenia.
Dr Eckerth also said that at this point in time the UK is in the same position as Germany was about 18 months ago. Germany implemented the legislation on March 1 this week.
Valpak
| Related links: |
At the event Valpak announced that it was talking to the vending machine association with a view to putting together an industry specific compliance scheme. Mike Sadler, head of WEEE pre-compliance at Valpak, also told his members that the online cost calculator was now available. The calculator allows companies to input important data to help estimate how much they will need to pay in order to comply.
Register for free to comment