The DTI is conducting a series of three consultations over the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive before legislation is implemented in August 2004.
The WEEE Directive sets targets for the collection and recycling of electrical goods and it gives producers financial responsibility for the treatment of WEEE and its collection from a central point.
” We are convinced that the use of a ‘clearing house’ is by far the best option for the UK “
– Intellect This second consultation closed on Monday, with responses submitted to government by stakeholders including the Local Government Association (LGA), the British Retail Consortium (BRC), packaging compliance scheme Valpak and Intellect, the trade association for IT and communications manufacturers.
The 'c;learing house' option for administrating producer responsibility was originally proposed by manufacturers Hewlett Packard, Electrolux, Gillette and Sony (see letsrecycle.com story). It has now been taken up by the government as an option for WEEE Directive implementation in the UK.
Under the proposal a central body, funded by producers, would be responsible for registering producers, calculating market share and co-ordinating WEEE collection points and the transporters.
In their responses to the consultation the LGA, BRC, Valpak and Intellect all supported the clearing house proposal but with the proviso that it should not manage the collection service. This means that collection point operators would contact the clearing house when they needed the WEEE removed and then the clearing house would allocate the transport to a producer or group of producers, but it would not be responsible for the transportation itself.
Intellect's response said: “We are convinced that the use of a ‘clearing house’ is by far the best option for the UK and we would welcome the opportunity to develop the concept. The government should not waste time and resources further considering other options.”
Collection times
However, conflicting opinions arose about how long it should take for WEEE to be collected from the central points, such as CA sites and electrical shops, after the clearing house has been contacted.
The LGA said collections from CA sites should be on a regular basis but also agreed with the BRC that the 48-hour limit suggested by the government is a suitable window. But, Intellect argued that 48-hour requirement could prove impractical and suggested it should be three working days or in a “timely fashion”.
Valpak, a packaging waste compliance scheme that is looking to diversify into this area of producer responsibility, said: “A pre-selected collection deadline may well be too long for some high volume collection points but for others will be unnecessarily prompt.”
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