Northern Compliance Limited and director Vincent Eckerman entered the pleas at Newcastle-upon-Tyne Magistrates Court last Thursday (27 June). The case has been adjourned to 24 September for a further hearing.
The full charges, brought by the Environment Agency, relate to the failure to finance the cost of WEEE collection, treatment, recovery or disposal of household WEEE.
Northern Compliance, the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) producer compliance scheme had its approval to continue to operate as a scheme withdrawn in January 2019 by the Environment Agency for failing to meet its targets in 2017 and then failing to pay a compliance fee as an alternative means of compliance.
WEEE Regs
Under the Regulations, Producer Compliance Schemes are responsible for financing the overall household WEEE collection target on behalf of their members, based on their market share.
This can either be done through the physical collection of WEEE, trading among schemes who have carried out collections, or through payment of a compliance fee as an alternative means of compliance.
Northern Compliance said that it did not pay the fee because it of a challenge against the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) over the setting of the fee.
Court documents published by the Environment Agency following a freedom of information request state that the scheme’s total shortfall for 2017 stood at over 2,268 tonnes, and its unpaid fee is estimated to have stood at close to a £1.1 million fee.
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, Mr Eckerman declined to comment.
Subscribe for free