Electronics reprocessing firm attacks producer lobbying

Electronics reprocessing firm CKS Group has warned of lobbying groups it claims are trying to weaken plans for the enforcement of WEEE producer responsibility.

In a blistering attack on producers and their compliance schemes, the Bracknell-based company said they "can’t be trusted" and will seek to avoid environmental obligations under new regulations coming into force next year (see letsrecycle.com story).

It is supporting government proposals for a two-tier system of evidence to prove that producers’ recycling requirements have been met.

These tiers would see producers required to obtain evidence from both authorised treatment facilities (ATFs) and materials reprocessors that WEEE has been fully recycled.

Lobbying
However, CKS is warning that many producer groups are "determined to remove the requirement" for two-tier evidence by lobbying the DTI.

Derek Morgan, compliance consultant at CKS, said: "Let’s be crystal clear, the producers can’t be trusted, and the waste management industry itself doesn’t have a sparkling track record. The tiers, as proposed, address that reality."

He accepted that there were "responsible producers", but attacked "amorphous schemes operating on behalf of an aggregate collective", that "simply have no interest in any cost burden associated with either administrating or supporting anything other than the legal minimum of process effectiveness".

Backing up his concerns, he said one scheme representative had "stated passionately at a recent industry council meeting: ’why should my members pay for 71% when 70% will do?’"

Revealing something of his company’s formal response to the DTI’s current consultation on the WEEE regulations, Mr Morgan said the Department’s proposals "do a good job addressing the requirements of the WEEE Directive".

Trading
But, he warned of "unintended consequences" to the draft regulations in the way that recycling evidence will be traded.

He said: "Irrespective of the individual producer’s status as a responsible business, their compliance schemes are going to be commercially driven to abuse the treatment, recovery and recycling fraternity."

Mr Morgan said since there was no collective ATF network in place for WEEE, "the schemes’ collective negotiating power is immense". He said: "These untrusted and unproven three-man-plus-fax organisations are already flexing their borrowed muscles and creatively dictating terms to our industry.

"This is hurting needed investment in new facilities and better practice – more so than any previous government delays," he added.

CKS also pointed out that as well as strengthening the audit trail, the two-tier system of evidence would encourage innovation in both ATFs breaking down the old equipment and reprocessors recycling the materials.

The DTI’s consultation on new WEEE regulations ends October 17.

Original text is here