With the deadline for the WEEE consultation and call for evidence fast approaching, we’re looking at the reform proposals and what triggered them in the first place. To have your say on the consultation submit your response here or submit your evidence here.
What triggered the WEEE regulations reform?
We, like many others, put it down to an inadequate and outdated system. Some key issues to highlight include:
- No incentives for Producer Compliance Schemes to collect above their targets
- Lack of convenient disposal options
- Poor consumer awareness when it comes to how and why they should recycle their WEEE
- Eco-design is not encouraged or rewarded
Ultimately – not enough WEEE is being diverted from general waste. WEEE recycling rates have dipped in recent years, despite rising rates of EEE placed on the market (POM). In 2022 it was estimated that 1,548,742 tonnes of EEE were POM – only 30% of which was recycled.
However after years of complaints and overdue promises – the reform has been proposed with fundamental changes to tackle these issues.
What is Defra proposing in the WEEE consultation?
Defra has applied Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) principles to the consultation proposal in the following areas:
- Increasing the infrastructure around distributor and retailer collections with free takeback initiatives, which are clearly communicated to consumers at the point of sale
- Producers financing the kerbside collections of small WEEE, and bulky waste collections of large WEEE from households
- The introduction of a new WEEE Category 15 for vapes to ensure producers cover actual cost of recycling
- Online marketplaces and fulfilment centres required to meet producer obligations, join a PCS, and submit data on EEE POM by their overseas sellers
- System governance via the creation of a sector-led scheme administrator with key performance indicators based on the revised WEEEE system
What is being proposed in their call for evidence?
Defra is also seeking views and evidence regarding an additional list of proposals, which sets out wider areas for reform that are likely to come later down the line once developed:
- Full net-cost recovery
- Target setting and allocation of financial obligations for producers, running on a rolling 3-year process
- Waste prevention and recycling initiatives
- Encouraging eco-design and circular economy business models
- Business WEEE collections
- Review and improvement on treatment standards, with set recovery rates for specific materials
The sector now has until March 7th to submit their views on these proposed changes via the consultation and call for evidence.
Not without their flaws, the proposed reform does offer some promise when it comes to increasing WEEE recycling and supporting the drive toward a more circular economy. Ensuring producer costs are ‘fair, necessary and transparent’ has been cited as one of the key objectives of the reform, alongside a future-proof system which reduces the volume of WEEE the UK is currently throwing into residual waste.
Wastecare Compliance are here to support our members with this WEEE consultation, and should you require any information ahead of submitting your views on the consultation please get in touch with the team – compliance@wastecare.co.uk
