DHL Envirosolutions. Target Setting Options under the Re-cast WEEE Directive. August 2011

Transcription

1 !! DHL Envirosolutions Target Setting Options under the Re-cast WEEE Directive August 2011

2 ! Table of Contents Section Page 1.0 Introduction Background Methodology UK WEEE Collection Rates Target Setting Options WEEE Collection Rates Business to Business WEEE Conclusions Page 2 of 18

3 1.0 Introduction This discussion paper was been produced by DHL Envirosolutions to ensure that UK producers of electrical and electronic equipment are kept aware of the potential consequences of the proposed recast WEEE Directive. All appropriate assumptions and methods used in the generation of the report are outlined within the text. DHL Envirosolutions core objectives are: To be easy to do business with; To provide customer service excellence at all times. Customers trust DHL. We have a solid track record of service with large and small UK producers and retailers. Our commercial rates and service levels are continually benchmarked by our members and we are proud of our results: Our packaging compliance scheme has significantly increased in size every year since its approval by the Environment Agency; We have moved from 5 th to 4 th largest UK WEEE compliance scheme since the WEEE Regulations took effect in 2007; In our two most recent customer surveys (Dec 2009 and Dec 2010) 84% of our clients rated us as either equal to or better than their best supplier for any service. Compliance Data Services Packaging Compliance WEEE Compliance Battery Compliance Recycling and Waste Management Environmental Consultancy Services Collection and management of data for submission under producer responsibility legislation. Legal compliance scheme services under the Packaging Waste Regulations. Legal compliance scheme services under the WEEE Regulations. Outsourced compliance services under the Waste Batteries Regulations through a partnership agreement. Nationwide recycling and waste management services for all materials, in any quantity and from any location. We currently provide regular nationwide collections of: Packaging waste of all types Confidential waste Electrical equipment Batteries Oils We also provide recycling solutions for numerous more difficult and unusual waste streams including coat hangers, food waste, hazardous materials etc. In many cases, after an initial audit, we will supply capital equipment such as conveying, sorting and baling equipment to maximise recycling rates and material rebate prices. Specialist services for: energy management, sustainability and CSR reporting. Carbon emission measurement and minimisation and compliance support under the CRC. Page 3 of 18

4 2.0 Background The current timetable for the proposed recast of the EU WEEE Directive suggests that agreement may be reached by Europe s political institutions on the revised content later this year. The final text will not be known until it has been agreed by both the European Parliament and the European Council of Ministers, however the proposals for changes to targets, amongst other things, have been under debate and negotiation for some time. Initial proposals were made by the European Commission (the EU s permanent executive body) in Amendments proposed by the European Parliament s Environment Committee were debated and agreed by the full European Parliament early in Then, in March of 2011 the European Council of Ministers examined both the Commission and Parliament proposals and suggested their own amendments. The Parliament and Council versions of the re-cast are currently still to be jointly debated with a final compromise position to be reached under the EU co-decision process. This process is due to formally continue in the second half of However, it appears that broad agreement on some of the general topic areas has already been achieved for example it appears that WEEE collection and recycling targets may well be changed although the final format and levels are still uncertain. Looking at the Commission proposals, and suggested amendments, it is possible to analyse how they could potentially be implemented in the UK - and therefore begin to anticipate what effects they might have on UK WEEE producers, retailers and the UK WEEE compliance market as a whole. The target setting suggestions are as follows: EU Commission Proposal EU Parliament EU Council of Ministers WEEE Collection Targets WEEE collection targets to be set as a % of all EEE sales - 65% to be achieved by WEEE collection targets to be set as a % of all WEEE disposed of - 85% to be achieved by 2016 Agree with Commission proposal - but with interim 45% target 4 years after recast and 65% 4 years thereafter. This document contains DHL Envirosolutions initial assessment of the ways in which these proposals might be set, and met, within the UK. We do not suggest that our findings are definitive, however we have examined the potential consequences to stakeholders from a number of implementation options which could be applied at a national level. Note: DHL Envirosolutions make no comment as to which targets or implementation options might be most suitable for UK producers and retailers (including others which may not have yet been proposed by the Parliament and Council of Ministers). Our analysis of potential outcomes shows that there may be both positive and negative effects for numerous stakeholders whichever changes might be imposed. We would welcome the opportunity to debate these matters further, in order to generate a consensus of opinion amongst DHL WEEE scheme members and other interested stakeholders. Page 4 of 18

5 3.0 Methodology 3.1 General 1. All of the data used to produce the graphs and tables contained within this document is as published by the Environment Agency DHL Envirosolutions makes no comment on the appropriateness, environmental or otherwise, of setting WEEE collection targets at any level and through any mechanism. Furthermore, we are not able to comment on the most suitable dates by which any such targets should be met. 3. In meeting European recycling targets in other producer responsibility regimes the UK Government has to date tended to set interim annual targets applicable to UK producers. This has helped the UK government to encourage a steady increase in collection and recycling rates to facilitate early action in ensuring the UK s compliance with EU requirements. If the recast WEEE Directive is written to include a numerical WEEE collection target to be met by the UK a specified number of years after the entry into force of the recast, then it seems possible that intermediate UK targets might again be applied. Although we acknowledge this to be the case, it does not affect the analysis or conclusions within this paper, hence we have not postulated as to how such interim targets might be set. 4. Our objective in preparing this analysis is to help to ensure that DHL WEEE compliance scheme members are prepared to meet any legal requirements which might result from the recast of the WEEE Directive, in the most cost effective, pragmatic and reliable manner. 3.2 Choice of Target Setting Scenarios Examined As outlined above in section 2.0, both the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers appear to favour setting Member State WEEE collection targets, however, the means of calculating such targets is not yet agreed between the two institutions. The proposal of the European Parliament is to require the collection of 85% of all WEEE. This is potentially justifiable on a number of grounds, for example: Using this target setting method would, arguably, account for the fact that different categories of EEE potentially spend greatly varying times in use before being discarded as WEEE; An amount of EEE sold each year is re-used, which may involve its export outside the EU. Therefore, some EEE sold in each Member State will never reach the waste steam in that State; It is possible that the flow of EEE onto the UK market has never been equal to the flow of WEEE from UK consumers. Although difficult to quantify, it seems likely that the quantity of electronic items owned by each household has always been gradually increasing as consumers take on new technology and (anecdotally) tend to store obsolete electrical goods for long periods; It also seems possible that different brands within each EEE category may spend different amounts of time in the UK market. Setting targets based on WEEE in the waste stream rather than EEE sold could potentially more easily facilitate the implementation of individual producer responsibility (although such a mechanism could also be applied in conjunction with other collection target setting methods). 1 Data available from Using information published for EEE placed on the market as last updated on 1 st June 2011 and WEEE collected in the UK as last updated on 17th June Page 5 of 18

6 Despite these points, setting a WEEE collection target based on WEEE disposed of, rather than EEE sold, presents at least one significant difficulty. In order to convert an 85% of all WEEE target into a tonnage based numerical value would seem to require knowledge of the quantities of WEEE currently disposed of as residual waste as well as WEEE deposited (and measured) for recycling a figure that is not known and that we have no way of estimating at present. Despite this issue, we believe that the points analysed within the target setting scenarios described in this paper remain valid whichever target setting mechanism is used. Therefore, although again we stress that we make no comment as to the most appropriate mechanism, we have used the EEE sales based target proposals of the EU Council of Ministers in our analysis since this allows a direct numerical weight based analysis to be made. All references to the recast Directive within this document are thus intended to refer to the version of the text as agreed by the EU Council of Ministers on 14 th and published on the 16 th March Inclusion of Business to Business EEE Sales The text proposed by the European Council for the new Article 7 of the recast Directive contains WEEE collection rate targets of 45% (to be achieved 4 years after the entry into force of the recast) and 65% (to be achieved 8 years after the entry into force of the recast). Furthermore, the targets are expressed in terms of electrical and electronic goods placed on the market ; and do not distinguish between goods intended to be used by private households and those intended to be used by those other than private households. We have therefore assumed that the proposed targets are intended to be calculated from the sales of all EEE whether this is currently classed as business to consumer (B2C) or business to business (B2B) equipment. 3.4 Use of Three Year Sales Averages As noted above, different types of electronic goods are generally expected to spend different amounts of time in use before being discarded as waste. In order to take account of this the EU Council of Ministers has proposed that WEEE collection targets should be based on the average quantities of EEE sold by producers in the previous three years. Although this will have effects on individual producers, it does not have a significant impact on the analysis of data or the conclusions reached in our analysis. In an effort to reduce complexity we have therefore ignored these effects in the presentation of results. 3.5 Treatment and Recovery Obligations Although not explicitly mentioned, we have assumed that the current requirements for producers to finance the appropriate treatment and recovery of all separately collected WEEE will remain unchanged. This requirement does not affect our conclusions, however, where the term collection has been used in the text in reference to the obligations of EEE producers, it should generally be interpreted to mean collection, treatment and recovery. 3.6 Obligation to Join a Compliance Scheme Within the current UK WEEE compliance system all producers are forced to join producer compliance schemes (PCS) to meet their WEEE collection, treatment and recovery obligations. For simplicity we have assumed that this obligation will remain, however, again this does not affect our conclusions. Page 6 of 18

7 4.0 UK WEEE Collection Rates Graph (1) below shows total UK business to consumer (B2C) EEE sales along with the total quantities of B2C WEEE reported to have been separately collected under the WEEE Regulations. Graph (1): UK B2C EEE sales and WEEE collection rates k tonnes Total B2C UK EEE and WEEE 23% 31% 37% 38% EEE onto market WEEE collected Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Graph (1) shows a gradual increase in the weight of separately collected WEEE along with a gradual reduction in the total weight of EEE put onto the market, both of which have contributed to the calculated increases in the UK WEEE collection rate (expressed as a percentage of EEE sales with calculated annual average figures shown at the top of the chart for each year from 2007 to 2010). Graph (2) below shows equivalent results for business to business (B2B) EEE sales and WEEE collected: Graph (2): UK B2B EEE sales and WEEE collection rates Total B2B UK EEE and WEEE EEE onto market WEEE collected % 4.1% 4.6% 5.1% k tonnes Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Page 7 of 18

8 The reported rates of EEE sales and WEEE collections for B2B equipment (shown in graph (2)) are considerably lower than the equivalent B2C figures (shown in graph (1)). However, since we have assumed that any proposed WEEE collection targets will be set as a proportion of combined B2C and B2B EEE sales (see Methodology point 4) graph (3) below shows combined EEE sales and WEEE collection rates: Graph (3): Combined UK B2C and B2B EEE sales and WEEE collection rates Total UK EEE and WEEE EEE onto market WEEE collected k tonnes % 25% 30% 32% 31% Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Looking more closely at the published figures, Table (1) shows large discrepancies between WEEE collection rates for different EEE categories (figures shown as a percentage of WEEE collected Vs EEE sold in each category): Table (1): Combined B2C and B2B WEEE collected against EEE put onto the market: Collection EEE Collection Rate (%) Category Category Description A 1 Large Household Appliances Small Household Appliances IT and Telcomms Equipment Consumer Equipment E 5 Lighting Equipment Electrical and Electronic Tools Toys Leisure and Sports Medical Devices Monitoring and Control Instruments Automatic Dispensers C 11 Display Equipment Cooling Appliances Containing B 12 Refrigerants D 13 Gas Discharge Lamps Totals Page 8 of 18

9 5.0 Target Setting Options For the purposes of our analysis we have assumed a scenario in which the recast Directive is agreed and enters into force late in 2011 and the targets suggested by the European Council of Ministers are accepted. Graph (4) shows the increases in WEEE collection rate which would need to be achieved in order for the UK to meet these requirements (assuming no increases in EEE sales from the 2010 reported levels): The green point is the UK s 2010 WEEE collection rate of 31%. The red points are the possible 45% and 65% targets implemented 4 and 8 years after The blue point is the current WEEE collection target of 4kg per head of UK population converted to an equivalent percentage of sales (based on a UK population of 63M). The black line shows the increase in UK B2C and B2B WEEE collection rate from 2007 to The red line The dotted line shows an indication of the WEEE collection rates that might need to be achieved in interim years between 2010 and 2019 to provide a steady increase towards the possible 45% and 65% targets from the current UK reported WEEE collection rate. shows an indication of the WEEE collection rates that might need to be achieved in interim years between 2010 and 2015 to provide a steady increase towards the possible 45% target from the current 4kg per head of population target. Graph (4): UK WEEE collection rates and potential rates required to meet increased targets. WEEE collection rate 70% 65% 60% 55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% Actual Page 9 of 18

10 For the UK to meet an overall WEEE collection target based on total EEE sales we have assumed that the UK Government would implement targets, applicable to individual EEE producers, which would similarly be based on the quantities of EEE that they place on the market. We have postulated four different potential target setting scenarios which could be applied through changes to the UK WEEE Regulations in order to meet an overall UK collection target. For simplicity we have only listed the potential consequences of applying targets up to the 45% level, however, similar conclusions can be drawn for higher or lower target regimes. 5.1 Scenario 1: 45% overall WEEE collection target (without individual EEE sales category targets) [So far within the proposals for the re-cast WEEE Directive, references to collection targets have not been broken down into the individual (currently 10) categories of the original Directive. We have therefore assumed in this scenario, that no UK category specific collection targets would be applied i.e. the entire UK WEEE collection obligation could be met from large domestic appliances if enough such recovery evidence were available.] Conclusions: 1. In such a scenario any producer is allowed to meet any amount of his recovery obligation from any source of WEEE. Example 1: A cooling appliance producer is responsible for placing 100 tonnes of EEE onto the UK market in He can now meet his obligations by collecting 45 tonnes of mixed WEEE and carries no obligation to collect, treat and recover waste cooling appliances. 2. Under the current market compliance system established by the existing WEEE Regulations, some compliance schemes have access to more or less WEEE than is required to be separately collected, treated and recovered by their own members. Schemes currently therefore arrange to collect WEEE on behalf of another scheme or to have it collected on their behalf by another scheme to meet their members obligations. It is not possible to know whether existing WEEE collection agreements between local authorities and schemes would change significantly under revised UK WEEE Regulations, nor whether any major shifts in scheme membership might take place in the medium or long term. All current WEEE collection and recovery evidence (and more) is likely to be required by producers to meet a 45% of EEE sales based collection obligation target - since current UK collection rates are below the proposed requirements (see graph 4). We assume that compliance schemes will continue to be under contractual obligation to collect, treat and recover all separately collected WEEE to specified recycling and recovery efficiencies. Furthermore, schemes will continue to generate WEEE compliance evidence from all of the various collection categories. However, as is currently the case, some collection category evidence will attract a higher cost than others due to different costs of treatment and recovery. It is feasible that some schemes could have access to more collected WEEE than would be required to meet the obligations of their members under an EEE sales based target setting system. Such schemes could therefore use lower cost compliance evidence to meet the obligations of their members and pass on higher cost evidence to other schemes. Page 10 of 18

11 3. Depending on their scheme membership it might then be the case that two producers (who might both place EEE onto the market in the same category) could meet their obligations from different evidence types. The view might therefore be taken that such an outcome would encourage the cross subsidy of WEEE compliance costs between producers and between EEE categories. 5.2 Scenario 2: 45% WEEE collection target applied individually to all EEE sales categories [To avoid some of the potential issues in Scenario 1 we will assume here that any sales based collection target is applied equally to every category of EEE.] Conclusions: 1. The reported WEEE collection rates shown above in table (1) are calculated from a number of variables including a collection protocol from DEFRA which defines the expected proportions of WEEE from various EEE categories which are disposed of as mixed WEEE. Therefore, although the EA publish WEEE collection figures by EEE category, these are not individually measured and hence cannot be precise. Having said this, if we assume that the published data gives a reasonable approximation of actual collection rates then it is clear that some EEE categories would be faced with a more difficult job than others in increasing to a collection rate of 45%. Example 2: If we will assume that all WEEE reported as having been separately collected from EEE categories 2 to 10 are in fact collected as mixed WEEE and reported according to the existing protocol, and this system remains unchanged. To achieve a reported increase in category 7 (toys leisure and sports equipment) collection to 45% mixed WEEE collection rates would be required to increase 22 fold. This would result in a reported collection rate of 793% for category 4 EEE (consumer equipment) i.e. a requirement to collect eight items for recycling for every one item sold. 2. It is difficult to envisage how such an increase in mixed WEEE collection might be achieved, however, there is a further potential complication. The current reported WEEE collection rates achieved in some categories is higher than the potential 45% target for example category 11 (display screens) currently at 97% and category 12 (cooling appliance) at 50%. Under this scenario: (i) (ii) all individual EEE categories would receive the same WEEE collection target and producers in under collected categories would not be able to meet their obligations through funding collections from other (over collecting) categories. It is therefore conceivable that such a target regime might encourage a reduction in WEEE collection and recovery from the current high levels in certain categories (or at least provide no compulsion to finance collection and recovery above a certain target level). Page 11 of 18

12 5.3 Scenario 3: 45% overall WEEE collection target (with differential EEE sales category specific targets) Conclusions: 1. The potential problems indicated by the analysis of scenarios (1) and (2) suggest that some form of hybrid solution may be a consideration. This could presumably take the form of an overall target accompanied by different EEE category specific collection targets. Using the example of the Packaging Regulations, in 2004 increased material specific targets were implemented in the UK for the various packaging materials covered by the then recast Packaging Directive. In setting the targets for UK producers, the Government examined existing rates of collection and recycling for each material and set gradually increasing targets from these levels for the interim years until the point at which the Directive targets were required to be met. It is important to stress again that the current proposals for WEEE collection targets within the recast Directive differ from those contained in the Packaging Directive in that no EEE category specific WEEE collection targets have been proposed. However, from the broad principles outlined above it might be possible to meet an overall WEEE collection target by setting gradually increasing EEE category specific collection targets using the current collection rates for each category as a start point. For the UK to meet an overall EEE sales based WEEE collection rate of 45%, all WEEE collection tonnages would need to increase by 42% (based on 2010 figures and assuming that increases are evenly applied). Applying this increase proportionately across some individual EEE categories would require the following differential targets to be set: Category 1 (large domestic appliances) from the current 29% collection rate to a new target level of 41%. Category 7 (toys leisure and sports equipment) from the current 1.8% collection rate to a new target level of 3%. Category 11 (display screens) from the current 97% collection rate to a new target level of 138%. Category 12 (cooling equipment) from the current 50% collection rate to a new target level of 71%. 2. It seems reasonable to assume that some categories might reach a new collection target more easily than others, simply due to the fact that they are starting from a lower base point. We might also therefore expect that if such a target setting scenario were to be considered in practice that more investigation would need to be done by stakeholders into the feasibility, efficacy, environmental impacts and costs for each category to meet any proposed new target. However, another factor to be considered is the potential justification of the fundamental principle of placing different WEEE collection targets on different EEE categories. 3. Under this scenario we have only considered the potential consequences of setting category specific WEEE collection targets to a level that would result in the overall WEEE collection rate reaching 45%. However, it may also be possible to set lower category specific targets at (say) the existing WEEE collection rates and allow the balance of the required increases to be met from any source of WEEE. In this case similar conclusions to those outlined above, along with the potential introduction of the cross subsidy issue described in scenario (1) would apply. Page 12 of 18

13 5.4 Scenario 4: 45% overall WEEE collection target (with or without differential WEEE collection category specific targets) Notes: 1. Paragraph 4 of Article 7 of the current recast Directive (as proposed by the EU Council of Ministers) suggests that in the year preceding the one in which the proposed 45% sales based target is required to be met (i.e. 3 years after the entry into force of the recast), the European Parliament and Council should re-examine the target with a view to setting a target based on WEEE collection categories rather than on EEE sales categories. The collection categories envisaged are listed in Annex IA of the text and are essentially very similar to those currently used in the UK. The main differences between the UK and the recast categories lie in the facts that: UK collection category A is equivalent to EEE category 1 (large domestic appliances) and UK collection category E is classed as mixed WEEE (made up of EEE categories 2 to 10) with the omission of display screens and cooling equipment. The equivalent recast collection categories omit cooling equipment and display screens but are based on whether or not the equipment collected has one length of more or less than 50 cm. They are divided about this point into large equipment and small equipment. Both large and small equipment under this categorisation can contain EEE from a number of the current 10 Directive EEE categories. 2. Rather than introduce new levels of complexity, we will assume that this target setting scenario might be applied without changes to the current UK WEEE collection categories. At this level of analysis this assumption will not affect our conclusions. Conclusions: 1. This scenario essentially produces similar results to those obtained during our analysis of scenario (3). WEEE collection rates in some collection categories may be easier to influence, and increase, than others. We would envisage further investigation would be required before an appropriate collection target could be applied to any WEEE collection category. 2. Both the current UK and the proposed recast collection categories are in most cases analogous to individual (or at least limited) EEE sales categories. Setting differential WEEE collection category targets would therefore be very similar in outcome to setting differential EEE sales category targets with similar potential issues as described in scenario (3) above. 5.5 Other Scenarios The above scenarios are by no means the only ones which may be considered should the UK be required to meet an EEE sales based WEEE collection target. Scenarios exist which might apply varying targets based on equipment composition, life cycle environmental impacts and numerous other factors within specific categories. Furthermore, we have not investigated potential target setting regimes based on the concept of Individual Producer Responsibility. As previously outlined, DHL Envirosolutions makes no comment as to the appropriateness of any of the above target setting scenarios, or any other potential scenario omitted from the above analysis. Page 13 of 18

14 6.0 WEEE Collection Rates So far in this examination we have looked at target setting options in percentage terms without much reference to the absolute quantities of WEEE that would be required to be collected. Furthermore, we have not examined the potential effects of changes in EEE technology or increases in overall EEE sales on the amounts of WEEE required to meet targets. The high percentages of reported WEEE collection in category 11 (display screens) is due partly to the fact that modern display screens are relatively light flat screen items, whereas the majority of display screens collected for recycling are heavier CRTs (cathode ray tubes). It is possible that technological advances may produce similar outcomes for other EEE categories; however, we are not able to foresee and account for such potential changes. Similarly, with regard to increases in sales, we can not predict how the UK EEE market will develop and hence can not estimate how this will affect required WEEE collection tonnages should a sales based WEEE collection target be imposed. For information, graph (5) shows the combined reported WEEE collection rates in the UK from 2007 to 2010 and Graph (6) shows the WEEE collection rates that might be required in intervening years in order for the UK to make a steady increase up to a 45% EEE sales based WEEE collection target under two arbitrary EEE sales scenarios. Graph (5): UK quarterly reported WEEE collection rates 130 Total WEEE k tonnes Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Page 14 of 18

15 Graph (6): Annual WEEE collection rates required to meet a 45% EEE sales collection target by 2015 Total WEEE k tonnes 1, Actual 5% YOY sales increase = 12.5% YOY collection rate increase Static sales = 7.5% YOY collection rate increase We make no comment as to the UK s ability to achieve the WEEE collection rates indicated above. Graphs (5) and (6) are included for illustrative purposes only. If we assume that the setting of a sales based WEEE collection target (and the measurement and reporting of its achievement) is based on both B2B and B2C EEE sales and WEEE collections. And in addition, if the reported 2010 sales figures for B2B and B2C EEE remained unchanged, the UK would need to collect an extra 202k tonnes of WEEE to meet a combined 45% sales based target by If the B2C collection rate remained static at 38% this would require an increase in the B2B collection rate from the calculated 2010 rate of 5% to 71%. If the B2B collection rate remained static at 5% this would require an increase in B2C collection rate from the calculated 2010 rate of 38% to 55%. There is no reason for us to suspect that the collection rates of either B2B or B2C WEEE will remain static, however, the above points lead us to consider whether one of our initial assumption is correct i.e. if individual WEEE collection targets are set separately for B2B and B2C sales then a number of questions and conclusions arise. For example: Should we expect both B2B and B2C producers to meet the same EEE sales based WEEE collection target (whether this is set at 45% or any other level)? If the answer to this question is yes then this will further complicate target setting scenarios. If the answer is no then on what basis should we determine which WEEE collection source to encourage? Furthermore, if differential collection targets are set for B2B and B2C producers - but an overall 45% UK target based on all EEE sales is required to be met - then this may infer cross subsidy of compliance burdens between the two WEEE streams. Page 15 of 18

16 7.0 Business to Business WEEE As has already been mentioned, Article 7 of the current Council recast text appears to describe the setting of EEE sales based targets using combined sales figures from both B2B and B2C sources (see methodology point 4). Our analysis of target setting scenarios therefore assumes that any sales based WEEE collection targets will apply to both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) producers. However, a brief examination of WEEE collection rates (section 6) raised a number of potential issues. if sales based WEEE collection targets are applied separately to both B2B and B2C producers, it may be the case that WEEE collection and recovery evidence from business and consumer sources could be required to remain separate with no cross over of compliance evidence allowed. A further potential complication lies in the fact that the recast text retains the requirement for B2B producers to continue to meet the obligations placed on them within Article 9 of the original Directive. The original Article 9 text states: Article 9 Financing in respect of WEEE from users other than private households Member States shall ensure that, by 13 August 2005, the financing of the costs for the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE from users other than private households from products put on the market after 13 August 2005 is to be provided for by producers. For WEEE from products put on the market before 13 August 2005 (historical waste), the financing of the costs of management shall be provided for by producers. Member States may, as an alternative, provide that users other than private households also be made, partly or totally, responsible for this financing. Producers and users other than private households may, without prejudice to this Directive, conclude agreements stipulating other financing methods. If the recast Directive requires B2B producers to be faced with an additional obligation to meet a sales based collection target along with the responsibilities above, then it is possible that potential conflicts may occur. For example: It is not immediately clear how the existing responsibilities can be applied in tandem with a sales based WEEE collection target for B2B producers. It is also unclear whether Article 9 above prohibits B2C producers from financing B2B WEEE collection treatment and recovery and meeting any potential sales based WEEE collection targets from B2B sources. Page 16 of 18

17 Table (2) shows both B2B and B2C mixed WEEE collection categories with relatively high equivalent EEE sales and relatively low collection rates. There are potentially challenges in meeting an EEE sales based WEEE collection target. However, it is not yet clear whether the most appropriate means to reach such a target would be through the implementation of kerbside WEEE collection. Before such a solution is implemented it may be appropriate to examine what potential increases could be achieved by maximising existing collection routes. For example, an increase in the availability of mixed WEEE collection points and improved publicity and encouragement for both public and business end users may provide much of the required material. 8.0 Conclusions For the purposes of this analysis we have assumed a scenario in which the recast Directive is agreed and enters into force late in 2011 and the targets suggested by the European Council of Ministers are accepted. Meeting such targets in this timescale could provide challenges to UK producers. Our analysis shows that: 1. If the recast of the WEEE Directive contains a WEEE collection target based on EEE sales, meeting such a target in the UK could present a number of challenges depending on the implementation mechanism chosen by the UK Government. Applying overall; EEE category specific; or WEEE collection category specific targets could all result in potential issues for obligated producers. 2. Assuming that sales of EEE remain constant, or increase from 2010 levels, WEEE collection rates will need to increase significantly to meet the targets currently supported by the European Council of Ministers. It also seems likely that WEEE collections will need to increase from both B2B and B2C sources. 3. The current Council of Ministers recast text proposes setting a WEEE collection target based on the combined sales of EEE to B2B and B2C users. In addition the text retains specific obligations for B2B EEE producers through the retention of the obligations contained within the original Directive s Article 9 (currently re-numbered as Article 13). This has the potential to cause complications for both B2B and B2C producers. Page 17 of 18

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