Industry "broadly in favour" of Government's proposed changes to waste electrical and electronic equipment management

The summary of responses (45-page / 1MB PDF) to its earlier consultation on the proposed changes shows that most businesses are in favour of either matching compliance schemes with collection sites, or setting collection targets based on market share while retaining competition between schemes. Businesses were not in favour of the creation of a single national producer compliance scheme, according to the responses.

The Government intends to publish its full response to the consultation next month, along with a final impact assessment and revised Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations, it said.

"The transformation of the WEEE compliance system has moved one step closer with the Government publishing a summary of responses to the consultation it held earlier this year and announcing its aim to publish the revised regulations in September 2013," said environmental law expert Helen Peters of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.

"Unsurprisingly there were many responses to the consultation, mainly from producers of EEE, and views have been mixed. However, respondents do appear to be broadly in favour of the Government's proposals," she said.

The EU's recast WEEE Directive (34-page / 978KB PDF) came into force in August 2012. It updates the previous regime, which dates back to 2003, with the introduction of ambitious new collection targets for producers of WEEE. It also covers a wider range of electronic equipment. Member states must implement the changes and introduce new national regulations by 14 February 2014. New UK regulations are intended to come into force on 1 January 2014, according to the Government, although this will not be confirmed until the legislation is finalised.

WEEE, or e-waste, is one of the fastest growing waste streams, according to the European Commission. However, only one third of e-waste generated is separately collected through existing frameworks. The previous WEEE Directive made manufacturers and producers responsible for the safe collection and disposal of used equipment and required member states to create mandatory free collection schemes.

The updated WEEE Directive introduces an initial collection target of 45% of electronic equipment sold from 2016, rising to 65% of equipment sold or 85% of waste generated from 2019. In addition, from 2018 the rules will apply to all types of electronic waste by ending many exemptions for old or difficult-to-collect items.

In April, the Government set out four possible options for reducing the amount that producers pay through WEEE compliance schemes in line with the true cost of processing waste. Of the 236 responses to this part of the consultation, 59% selected "do nothing" as their least preferred option. There was also "virtually no support" for the creation of a national compliance scheme, which respondents of all types said was monopolistic and could cause anti-competitive behaviour, according to the summary.

The target and compliance fee option received "substantial support" across all categories of respondent, with 95% indicating that it was either their first or second preference of the four options. This option was supported by the majority of local authorities, who said that although doing nothing would suit them better this option still gave them the benefit to choose their collection service. However, respondents raised some concerns about how the compliance fee would work.

More respondents chose the 'matching' option as their first choice than any other option; however the majority of the 116 votes came from waste producers and their trade associations. Producers said that this option would cut their compliance costs the most and had worked well in other EU member states. However, local authorities and waste management companies opposed this option.