Waste law should be welcomed

After months of wrangling the government has finally published its plans for the implementation of the EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and unsurprisingly the row surrounding the controversial legislation shows no sign of abating.

While most commentators are pleased that the government has finally set the date of July 2007 to implement the new law – albeit almost two years later than originally planned – there is still disagreement about the feasibility of its plans and criticism of the £500m burden imposed on equipment producers and the price rises this will prompt.

The row centres on the government’s decision not to mandate visible fees forcing suppliers to display a recycling levy on price tags. Some manufacturers, such as Dell, have welcomed this move, claiming that once a visible fee is introduced it settles at a certain level and removes the incentive for producers to develop more efficient recycling processes and product designs that drive down recycling costs.

Others argue the exact opposite, claiming visible fees increase pressure on firms to differentiate themselves by lowering this cost. They also argue that without visible recycling costs, larger manufacturers with greater economies of scale could raise prices higher than necessary and blame the WEEE directive.

Meanwhile, the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances complains it is unfair that its members have to pick up the bill for old kit produced by firms that have since gone out of business – and says they may move jobs abroad as a result.

WEEE is not perfect, but as anyone who has ever looked at the thorny issue of "polluter pays" knows, it is almost impossible to ensure producer responsibility is enforced in a completely fair way. There is an element of rough justice and some firms will end up paying for others’ waste, but rough justice is better than no justice.

Customers should also think before complaining about price hikes. Yes prices will rise, but given the deflation among all electrical goods from mobiles to fridges, inflation will be minimal. The prices will also fall as producers begin to design products that are easier to recycle.

Moreover, a simple economic analysis shows that imposing the cost of recycling on the manufacturer does not invent a new cost but rather applies an existing landfill and environmental cost felt elsewhere – notably through our taxes – back onto those initially responsible. In short, if you’ll excuse the rather vulgar turn of phrase, when it comes to WEEE it is time to suck it up.

Original text is here