ERP becomes packaging compliance scheme

WEEE and batteries compliance scheme European Recycling Platform (ERP) will offer packaging compliance to its members from 2013, after receiving accreditation from Defra.

The move will see ERP join the 44 compliance schemes already in operation in the packaging sector in the UK, in a bid to offer greater cost effectiveness to its members. ERP was approved by the Environment Agency as a WEEE producer compliance scheme in February 2007 and as a battery compliance scheme in September 2009.

Members of ERPs batteries and WEEE compliance schemes include Canon UK, Colgate, Alba, Amazon EU, Poundstretcher, Orange and Electrolux.

ERP UKs managing director Scott Butler, said: For us it is a logical extension of the service we already offer. We want to provide as much support to our members as we possibly can.

He added that the move had not come in response to the current high value of packaging recovery notes for certain materials, including glass, which reached 60 a tonne last month (see letsrecycle.com story) and that the decision was influenced by the improvement of the service rather than commercial benefits.

He said: There is vulnerability in the price of evidence in all compliance markets and were are watching the glass and plastic PRN prices with interest, but for us its the service that we can offer our members, rather than the commercial benefits that have influenced the decision; our main aim is to be cost effective.

Of course the business opportunity exists, but we would take advantage of those opportunities only where it benefits our members.

Compliance

In August, the government announced that as part of its Red Tape Challenge to reduce regulatory burden on businesses it would be launching a consultation in early 2013 into plans to bring the UKs producer responsibility regulations closer in line with one another (see letsrecycle.com story).

Mr Butler added that the decision to include packaging compliance among its services would help it adapt to any potential changes to the compliance system and said he hoped that the lessons learned across all three of the producer compliance schemes would be used to improve the system.

He said: We believe there is commonality that has not yet been realised across WEEE, batteries and packaging. None of the three systems are perfect, there are elements of each that can be used to enhance all of them, for example: tradable evidence has been proven to have a detrimental effect on the WEEE system.

We want to be in a position to support the changes to the system and there is an opportunity to rebuild all of the compliance systems.

ERP was set up in December 2002 by Braun, Electrolux, HP and Sony in response to the adoption of the European Unions WEEE Directive. The scheme operates in thirteen countries across the continent including Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, and the UK.