A call for proposals was put forward in August – with proposals from the Joint Trade Associations (JTA) and producer compliance scheme Valpak. Defra has today (19 October) asked for views on each of the proposals.
The methodology for the fee will be announced in mid-February, which Defra claims will allow schemes sufficient time to pay it in line with the compliance deadline of March 31, 2017.
A methodology proposed by the JTA has been approved for use by the government in both 2014 and 2015. The JTA represents around 90% of the companies obligated under the WEEE producer obligations in the UK and has a trio of compliance schemes involved in its work – ERP, Recolight and Repic.
Its trade association members are: AMDEA, BEAMA, BTHA, EEF, GAMBICA, LIA, PETMA, SEAMA and techUK.
Fee
The compliance fee is intended to discourage PCSs from collecting volumes of WEEE significantly above their collection targets and then seeking to sell the surplus evidence to schemes seeking more evidence to meet their obligations.
The fee is imposed on schemes that have been unable to collect enough evidence for the recycling of a particular type of WEEE product. It was brought in as a mechanism under the 2013 WEEE Regulations, and first used in 2014. The mechanism for calculating the compliance fee is changed yearly.
According to Defra, the methodology for calculating the fee should be established in a way that encourages compliance through collection and treatment of WEEE via the network of CA sites across the UK.
Proposals
JTA’s proposal is based largely on that which was adopted in 2014 and 2015, which involves a sliding scale that sees schemes pay more in fees the further they are from their target. This is calculated by taking into account the average cost of transport and treatment for each stream. The administration of the JTA system would be overseen by accountancy firm Mazars if it went ahead.
The proposal submitted by Valpak would see schemes provide direct collection and treatment cost data – as well as using data from the producer balancing system (see letsrecycle.com story). Grant Thornton LLP – which would independently oversee the system – would use the data to calculate the weighted average cost for the treatment of WEEE per stream, which would be used to calculate individual compliance fees.
Stakeholders have until 25 November to provide views on the two proposals.
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