And, the Agency has also said that, while all schemes did eventually meet their members' obligations for the 2007 waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) compliance period, a “couple” of schemes were still being investigated in relation to “technical failures”.
“We are writing to a number of the worst offenders,” she added.
In October 2008, the EA's policy advisor for WEEE, Adrian Harding, warned producer compliance schemes that evidence trading was expected to operate at the “margins” of the WEEE system.
He told schemes applying for re-approval in 2009 that they would need to find a balance between being able to access evidence and meeting their members' obligations without a reliance on trading (see letsrecycle.com story).
The 2007 compliance period was characterised by a flurry of late trading and deals for evidence between schemes as some held a significant evidence surplus while others needed to acquire evidence due to lack of access to civic amenity sites (see letsrecycle.com story).
Despite this, the spokeswoman confirmed that “all schemes eventually discharged the obligations of their members.”
But, she also revealed that “a number of warning letters were sent and a couple of schemes are still being investigated for possible offences relating to compliance in 2007”, adding that “these are all in relation to technical failures”.
It is understood that some of these investigations relate to the late submission of paperwork and data to the Agency by schemes.
Review
In July 2008, BERR launched a review of the entire WEEE system, as then-energy minister Malcolm Wicks warned producer compliance schemes that action would be taken against them if they “threaten the whole system” (see letsrecycle.com story).
A consultation on proposed changes to the WEEE regulations is now expected to be launched before the end of the year.
And, the long-awaited WEEE consumer awareness campaign is also expected to be unveiled in the lead-up to Christmas.
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