WEEE collection rate downsized after error emerges

The UK collected household electrical goods for recycling at a rate of 5.2kg per head of the population per year during the first six months of its producer responsibility system.

That is according to data issued by the Environment Agency on Friday, showing waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) collections from July to December 2007.

The new figures included “substantial” reductions in the level of collection reported in December 2007, regarding the July-September period. That had suggested the UK was achieving a 6.25kg/year/head rate (see letsrecycle.com story).

Nevertheless, the 5.2kg level of household WEEE collections is high enough to meet the European WEEE Directive's target of collecting 4kg per head per year.

The Agency said the new figures had included a number of “minor” errors as well as a major “glitch” involving the over-reporting of large domestic appliances collection to the tune of more than 41,000 tonnes.

Collections

The data for the first six-month period under the WEEE Regulations, which implemented the producer responsibility legislation of Europe's WEEE Directive, saw just over 158,000 tonnes of household electronics collected separately from the general waste stream and sent to recyclers.

The same period saw just over 10,000 tonnes of WEEE from the business sector handed in for recycling.

Figures for the amount of new goods placed on the UK market by electronics producers in the same six-month period currently show 803,551.493 tonnes sold to householders and 332,940.526 tonnes sold to businesses.

The Agency had delayed issuing the figures while it ironed out some of the glitches. However, there are still some issues to be resolved, and the Agency is expecting to issue revised data early in April.

BERR – the government's Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform are also working with the Environment Agency to look at the figures and what they indicate. One question understood to be under investigation is the level of business WEEE being collected for recycling.

Revision

In issuing the data to producer compliance schemes on Friday, the Agency specifically named Veolia as being the scheme behind the over-reporting of data from the third quarter of 2007.

As a result the amount of WEEE reported to have been separately collected in Q3 has been revised from 113,327 tonnes to 74,970 tonnes, which will impact on all producer compliance schemes as it will change their expected obligations.

Schemes were told that Veolia's scheme could now face enforcement action for submitting inaccurate data.

An Agency spokesman explained to letsrecycle.com: “Veolia ES WEEE Compliance Scheme has indicated that the misreporting was due to an 'IT problem' it encountered. The Environment Agency for reasons like this returns the data to each of the schemes for checking before publication. However, it seems this verification process has not worked on this occasion. We have launched an investigation into how this incident occurred and will take the appropriate action as under our Enforcement Policy and in line with the regulations.”

Trading

The new figures comes in the last three months before the final deadline for compliance schemes – working on behalf of electronics manufacturers and importers – make sure they have collected and recycled enough WEEE – or have bought surplus evidence to cover their members' obligations.

Schemes are reporting lots of activity at the moment, with the marketplace for WEEE evidence beginning to open up – although there has been no public report yet of any deal between Electrolink and REPIC (see letsrecycle.com story).

Two or three schemes are said to be actively making evidence available at the moment, with a number of other schemes monitoring what is happening with a possible view to selling surplus notes to those that might need them to balance their books.

The Agency has said the trading and auditing of WEEE recycling evidence for the July-December 2007 compliance period must be complete by the end of May 2008.

Data

The Environment Agency says it has updated data for equipment placed on the market by members of producer compliance schemes, with “small changes” included in quarter three results. “We are continuing to receive updates of this information and will be updating the tables again at the beginning of April 2008,” it told schemes.

The full table for July to December (as of 03/03/08) was as follows:

The data on WEEE collections includes items collected from designated collection facilities (DCFs) by producer compliance schemes as well as household WEEE that DCFs cleared themselves.

Figures are also shown for household WEEE returned under Regulation 32 – this refers to items returned by retailers to producer compliance schemes and household WEEE collected through a collection system a scheme operates itself.

As with market data, the Agency has told schemes that some of the collection data is being investigated. In particular, the Regulation 32 column has thrown up a few surprises, not least a negative tonnage of household display WEEE taken back to retailers in the fourth quarter.

The Agency said: “This is being investigated and the table will be updated at the beginning of April.”