Producer compliance schemes Electrolink and REPIC issued a joint statement today confirming that they have agreed on a price to trade the evidence, which represents the collection and reprocessing of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
Although they have not revealed publicly a price level, there will have been some compromise between the two schemes over the particularly thorny issue of large domestic goods.
And, that will see Electrolink confident that cash flow problems suffered by some of its partners will now be resolved.
The statement from the two schemes said that the deal will “contribute towards the smooth running of the WEEE process”, and that the arrangement was “welcomed by both parties”.
A joint comment from REPIC chief executive Philip Morton and Electrolink chief executive Barry Van Danzig said: “We are delighted to have reached this agreement. We both look forward to working closely with all stakeholders to achieve a workable, environmental solution that maximises the recycling and re-use of WEEE in the UK.”
WEEE evidence is now available from Electrolink for the purchase of other compliance schemes that may have waited to trade until the REPIC issue was resolved.
Conflict
The conflict was related to the producer responsibility legislation, the WEEE Regulations, which has since July 2007 required manufacturers and importers of electronic goods to pay for separately-collected WEEE to be recycled.
Electrolink has contracted to fund the collection and processing of WEEE from far more collection sites than needed to carry out the recycling duties of its producer members.
REPIC, on the other hand, did not have enough collection sites on its network to provide the recycling required to meet its members' obligations under the WEEE Regulations. Its members are responsible for placing just over half of all electronics goods on the household market by tonnage.
Under the WEEE Regulations and the monitoring of the Environment Agency, compliance schemes have until the end of May to finalise all the evidence needed to show that they have paid for enough recycling to meet their members' obligations.
REPIC had been unhappy at the costs Electrolink had been charging for its evidence – particularly concerning large domestic goods like televisions and fridges. It had wanted zero-cost evidence for large domestic goods because it saw them as having a scrap value to the collection and reprocessing chain.
Electrolink had argued that it was only charging fees high enough to cover its partners' costs, with an appropriate mark-up. It had said scrap values had not covered its partners' costs, such as the cost of transporting items to reprocessors in the case of sites a distance away from recycling plants.
Deal
The deal struck today involved compromise even on the large domestic goods issue, and should see cash flow problems cleared up, at least for the July-December 2007 compliance period and the first quarter of 2008.
Electrolink and REPIC will then need to agree a way forward for the second quarter of 2008 onwards, but in today's statement sought to portray that they are working closely now.
REPIC is the first compliance scheme to buy evidence from Electrolink, with other compliance schemes requiring evidence from Electrolink waiting to see what kind of deal would be struck with the largest scheme in the household electronics market.
Electrolink is treating REPIC as its first buyer within the pricing level agreed, and is granting REPIC a first buyer's advantage in the pricing of the WEEE evidence being purchased. Other schemes waiting to purchase evidence from Electrolink will not necessarily be offered evidence at the same levels as REPIC.
The situation is likely to see the first schemes coming forward to Electrolink offered the cheapest WEEE evidence still available – the evidence from WEEE collected closest to recycling plants working with Electrolink.
Explaining the current situation, Mr Van Danzig told letsrecycle.com: “REPIC have of course gained first mover advantage by being the first to trade. Naturally WEEE costs vary from site to site and we shall be selling our remaining stock of surplus evidence on a first come, first served basis.”
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