The support for the clearing house came in the government's third consultation on new WEEE regulations, which closed at the end of October. Trade and industry minister Mike O'B;rien revealed last night the DTI had received 225 submissions and that “strong feelings” had been expressed by stakeholders.
”What is emerging so far from the consultation is broad support for the national clearing house.“
– Mike O'B;rien, trade and industry minister
Summing up the responses, the DTI said stakeholders had “overwhelmingly” backed proposals for a national clearing house to be set up to organise producer responsibility for waste electronics.
Views on how the clearing house would operate were varied between respondents, with some concerns expressed over the governance, accountability and added bureaucracy of such an approach.
There were also fears that the clearing house would be too complex to be set up in time for the August 13 start of WEEE producer responsibility.
Speaking at a meeting of the Parliamentary Sustainable Waste Group last night, Mr O'B;rien said: “What is emerging so far from the consultation is broad support for the national clearing house, concerns about the time-tabling of it all and also practical questions about how it will be done.”
A significant number of manufacturers and several trade associations submitted “identical (or near-identical)” responses, the DTI said.
Alongside the third consultation on WEEE, a group of producers and key stakeholders was formed to look into the development of a national clearing house. A report from the group has also been published on the DTI website this week. Mr O'B;rien said the Department was interested in receiving other stakeholders' views on this document in the run-up to Christmas.
Next steps
The trade and industry minister said the next steps would be for officials to work through the detail of WEEE regulations, submitting to ministers “in the next few weeks”. Defra is to consult on the permitting arrangements for WEEE treatment facilities “shortly”.
For more information on the DTI's third consultation on WEEE, see the DTI website.
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