WEEE: The JTA Compliance Fee Mechanism

The following press release has been issued by the JTA.

The Joint Trade Associations (JTA) has revealed further details of the mechanism it has proposed to the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) to calculate the WEEE compliance fee.

The JTA has provided BIS with a simple methodology to calculate the compliance fee developed by FTI, one of the UK’s leading economics consultancy groups.  It would be implemented using a streamlined process, operated by Mazars, a UK top ten accountancy firm, to distribute funds to local authorities.

The JTA represents nine major trade associations in the electrical sector and has worked with three producer led WEEE compliance schemes to develop this proposal to BIS.

The key elements of the JTA proposal include:

• A different compliance fee for each WEEE stream
• Fee based on the average direct cost of transport and treatment for each stream.
• The average is weighted, so that PCSs with small tonnage collections do not distort the fee calculation.
• Cost data is only needed from those PCSs that need to use the fee – no need to mandate all PCSs to provide data (which might require a change to the WEEE regulations).
• A smooth escalator increases the fee payable, the further a PCS is away from meeting its target.  If a PCS narrowly misses its target, the fee would be close to the weighted average cost.  Conversely, if a PCS collects nothing, the fee would be double the weighted average.
• Given the positive value of virtually all large household appliances, the proposal recommends a zero fee for this stream.

At its heart, the proposal includes the following formula:

: the total Fee for the relevant stream for the PCS in question, in GBP.

: the weighted average net cost of collection for the stream, in GBP per tonne.

: the PCS’s target for the stream, in tonnes.

: the amount of the stream of WEEE collected by the PCS, in tonnes.

The JTA proposal includes the use of Mazars as the administrator  the amount of the stream of WEEE collected by the PCS, in tonnes.

of the fee.  Mazars are a UK top ten accountancy firm, which ensures complete confidentiality in handling the data, and impartiality in calculating the fee.

Chairman of the JTA and Technical Manager at the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances, Richard Hughes said:  “’We are proud to have delivered a proposal that provides BIS with a complete package for operating the compliance fee.  Using FTI, a professional economics group, gives us confidence that the JTA proposal will be effective at encouraging compliance by collection, is economically robust, and meets all the key requirements laid down by BIS.”

Simon Eves, Deputy Chairman of the JTA, Chairman of the Environment Strategy Council at techUK and Head of Environmental Affairs at Panasonic UK added:  “The JTA have worked closely with three producer led PCSs in the development of this proposal.  Those PCSs have cooperated with FTI, independently providing data, to road test the proposed data collection and calculation mechanism. This has verified that the methodology is sound. Our proposal also provides a streamlined process, operated by Mazars, to distribute Compliance Fee funds to local authorities”.

The BIS consultation on the compliance fee proposals will close on 28 November 2014.

ENDS

The full name of the JTA is The Joint Trade Association Group (Producer Responsibility)

The JTA is a grouping of nine leading Trade Associations in the electrotechnical sector. Three Producer owned and led WEEE Producer Compliance Schemes contribute to the work of the JTA. It came together to achieve the common goal of introducing a fairer WEEE system.

The Trade Association members of the JTA are AMDEA, BEAMA, BTHA, EEF, GAMBICA, LIA, PETMA SEAMA and techUK.  The PCSs who contribute to the work of the JTA are ERP UK, Recolight, and REPIC.

The JTA estimates that its combined membership represents approximately 90% of the WEEE producer obligation in the UK.