Recolight are pleased to have been instrumental in the establishment of the new WEEE PCS Balancing System, or PBS.

Most Local Authority household waste recycling centres collect WEEE.  And under WEEE regulation 34, a Local Authority can require any PCS to make a WEEE collection, from any site in the UK, subject to certain conditions.  The availability of regulation 34 is good news for Local Authorities – it is the mechanism included in the 2013 WEEE regulations which ensures an LA can always get their WEEE collected for free.

In 2014 and 2015, there were very few, if any regulation 34 requests.  But in 2016, an increase in WEEE in excess of the national targets meant that a number of Local Authorities issued requests.  As a result, and in order to maintain the stability of the WEEE system, a majority of PCSs came together to establish the PCS Balancing System.  The PBS is an agreement between WEEE schemes, which shares out the costs, and risks, of those regulation 34 requests.

The system also benefits other stakeholders in the WEEE system.

• Local Authorities only need to issue one regulation 34 request, which will then be managed by a PCS for an extended period.  That gives LAs continuity in collection partner, and reduced administration costs.
• Recyclers also benefit, as the system offers longer term contracts.
• Producers that are members of a WEEE PCS that is in the PBS can be confident of a stable partner:  Any PCS that is not in the PBS is at risk of receiving a regulation 34 request that could cause it major financial and operational challenges.