£3.3m Boost for E-Waste Fund

10 May 2019 12:51 PM

The money will bolster the existing WEEE Fund which is being spent on research projects, a national communications campaign and projects that boost e-waste collections.

An additional £3.3 million, generated by the use of the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive Compliance Fee in 2018, will be spent on projects that will support higher levels of reuse and recycling of waste electrical and electronic waste, the Joint Trade Association (JTA) confirmed recently (10 May 2019).

The WEEE Compliance Fee was established as a means for Producer Compliance Schemes to discharge some of their obligations on behalf of producers of electronic equipment as an alternative to directly collecting WEEE. The JTA’s proposal for the 2018 Compliance Fee was chosen by the Secretary of State for Environment, The Rt. Hon. Michael Gove, earlier this year and following a competitive selection process.

Among the activity that the Fund is already supporting:

• An assessment of the presence of persistent organic pollutants and other hazardous substances in legacy WEEE plastics to support a high-level of compliance in WEEE plastics recycling (led by ICER, £556k).
• The development of a mixed WEEE protocol and refresh of existing protocols which support accurate reporting of WEEE collections (led by the WEEE Schemes Forum, £414k).
• A study to determine the flow of electricals and electronics as they move through the economy and when they become waste (led by Anthesis, £208k).
• A trial to explore options to improve the handling of lithium ion batteries in WEEE to reduce the risks of fires from inappropriate handling (led by Axion, £62k).
• An assessment of the effectiveness of local authority projects previously funded by the Distributor Take Back Scheme and the WEEE Compliance Fee Fund (Anthesis, 2018, £8k).
• Qualitative and quantitive research exploring public options and behaviour in relation to reusing, repairing and recycling WEEE (Ipsos Mori, 2019, £107k).
• The development of a three-year national WEEE communications strategy (Trust PR, 2019, £tbc).

Negotiations in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales remain underway on how best to support local projects. Local authority groups and the Reuse Network have been working with the WEEE Fund to develop the best approach for working with local authorities and reuse operators.

A new open call for technical research projects will open on Monday 20 May 2019. Developed project proposals should be sent to info@weeefund.uk by 30 September 2018 and applicants are encouraged to engage with the WEEE Fund as early as possible. 

For each of the three broad areas – local projects, technical research and communications and behaviour change programmes – a panel of experts, drawn from actors across the WEEE system, support decision making, judging and appraisals of bids.

Susanne Baker, Chair of the JTA, and head of techUK’s environment and compliance programme recently said:

“Our focus will continue to be on spending the Fund carefully on projects that can deliver genuine and lasting improvements to the system, with the buy-in and support from the community of local authorities, businesses and civic society groups that manage and deal with these products at the end of life.”

Scott Butler, WEEE Fund Manager, recently said:

“While the first phase of technical research was focused on pressing research needs, this next phase gives us the opportunity to explore whether the Fund can support and pilot innovative collection models, support more effective enforcement and recycling efficiency. Further, we will explore whether we need to complement our public communications campaign with one focused on targeting businesses.”

To improve transparency of the Fund, the JTA announced recently that it would be carrying out an independent audit of the Fund, which will be made publicly available. Further, quarterly updates will be posted on the WEEE Fund website to provide an overview of the funds that have been committed and what remains in the pot.

Notes to Editors

Media Contacts: Harri Turnbull – harri.turnbull@techuk.org-  0207 331 2011

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The WEEE Compliance Fee Fund 2018

• Just over £3.3 million was raised via the 2018 compliance fee. It will bolster the existing Fund, generated via money that was collected through the 2017 WEEE Compliance Fee mechanism, which currently stands at just under £7 million. The fund is expected to be spent over the coming years on a range of activities, including technical research, communications, behaviour change activities and local projects.
• The compliance fee is a regulatory tool open to the Government to support the delivery of the UK Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations. If a Producer Compliance Scheme (PCS) misses their target, they have an option to pay a compliance fee for the tonnage shortfall. 
• The law requires that the compliance fee is set at a level that encourages compliance through collection. The fee therefore complements national targets by creating an additional financial incentive to collect WEEE, because it must at least reflect the true cost of recycling WEEE.
• Each year, bodies are invited to submit proposals to run the Compliance Fee in any given year. For the 2018 and 2017 compliance period, the JTA – a group of trade associations representing producers of electrical and electronic equipment – methodology was selected by the Secretary of State. The Compliance Fee is administered by Mazars LLP on behalf of JTAC, the registered company established by the JTA with the sole purpose of entering into contracts with third parties for services relating to the WEEE Compliance Fee. The current chair of the JTA is Susanne Baker from techUK.