The leading provider of

Outsourced Solutions for

Recycling and Waste

Wastelink Services Ltd

•established 1994 – UK’s largest independent waste management FM company

•business – waste handling, recycling, treatment, disposal and environmental compliance

•by - being a solution provider in partnership clients, delivering innovation, best value and excellent service

•for – all businesses sectors

A Total Waste Management Solution

Waste management services

Disposal

Treatment –ABP,Haz waste Services

Recycling, Trading

Confidential waste

Recycling Operatives

Data KPI’s

Equipment/Staff

Cost Savings

Compliance

Packaging Waste Regulations

PRN Trading

New legislation WEEE, Batteries ELV ,

Duty of care

Expert advice

Influencing legislation

Innovation

AD

DED

VA

LU

E

Producer Responsibility How does it reach into

your business?

2 September 2004

The Institute of Environmental Management &

Assessment

Producer Responsibility “What does it mean”

• English Dictionary- producer – to make, manufacture or create, responsibility – a thing that someone is required to do, a legal obligation

• Producer Responsibility first introduced for waste in 199- ? (audience please guess)

• based on polluter pays principle

• given that virtually every business is a waste producer, PRODUCER RESPONSILILITY impacts on more businesses than any other environmental legislation

Environmental Drivers

• legislation single-market, but who is setting the standards?

• change behaviours – producers and consumers, design out waste, hazardous materials and encourage recycling over disposal

• landfill avoidance and pre-treatment

• increase material recovery and recycling rates ?

• one of the many paths on the route to sustainability

Concept of “gone away” has gone away

• European Union identified priority waste streams to which it would apply the principles of Producer Responsibility

-Packaging Waste

-End of Live Vehicles

-Electrical and Electronic products

-Luminars and discharge lamps

- Vehicle Tyres

- Batteries

- Emissions and energy

What next, Aggregates, minerals, bi-material (wood), nappies

even more radical - a global producer responsibility on all materials ?

Human natures reaction to PR

• the journey begins – this is crazy it won’t happen (denial)

– we can change it (false belief)

– we will wait and see what others are doing (procrastination)

– someone else will sort it (who!)

– government know what they are doing (since when has this ever been true!)

– 11th hour wake up call (reactionary)

– little choice, loss of control and higher costs (reflective – how did we get in this mess)

– acceptance (must do)

– bitterness (why is it difficult and costly)

The journey ends at COMPLIANCE or not!

The here and now

• Packaging Waste Regulations, increased targets, much higher costs, possibly more burdens put on obligated business to enable government to meet national targets

• WEEE – Draft regulations that have not addressed financing,collection,Clearing House concept or levels of treatment required – but it’s here

• WEEE Compliance – cut and paste from packaging Regulations

• ELV- Big boys and rough boys row – lines have been re-drawn

• Batteries – proposals similar to WEEE (producer pays market share, collection target, retailer takeback)

Common thread “Producer Responsibility”

• producer pays

• amount you pay depends on market share –or does it ?!

• related to waste products for which you have little or no control over, nor or access to

• complex legislation –mainly driven by the need to be seen as fair!

• legislation that is sprinkled with additional burdens, good intentions usually ineffective

• in many instances financially impossible to DIY (WEEE)

• opportunity to delegate all your responsibilities

• you increase recyclers’ profits, help build their infrastructure or provide a nice subsidy that reduces their risk on raw material price fluctuations

Average CEO’s/FD’s view

• you’re joking!

• how does it affect turnover and profit?

• what is it going to cost?

• what’s the bottom line – legally have to do?

• what’s the competition doing?

• why worry, TRUST the government, the regulators they have all the solutions!

• in most instances -seek lowest cost legal/environmental solution

Impact on business

• added cost – data capture (products placed on market), data on waste streams

• added cost - waste segregation, waste treatment, paying for recycling infrastructure

• added cost – complexity of have to deal with legislation, regulations, permits, controls and regulators

• added cost- to avoid risk of prosecution

• added cost – meeting compliance and recycling targets

• added cost – endless rounds of discussions, lobbying, navel gazing – and we still end up with dreadful regulations!

• more added costs – as year on year targets rise

External annual compliance cost to UK businesses

• Packaging £87m - £160m

• WEEE £150m - £400m (DTI estimate)

• ELV £150m - £285m (estimate)

• Batteries £32 m - £60m

• Tyres £4m - £21m

Almost £1bn per year at higher cost!

Other Impacts

• tendency to look inwards – fine if related to product design (you directly benefit) woeful if you begin to “redesign the waste collection and recycling infrastructure”

• many get hung up on the details and miss the strategic issues, the ones that matter to the business and shareholders

• delays introducing legislation affects behaviour – the unknown

• choosing the right supplier – too many choices

• risk or fear of doing too much too soon – your competitors didn’t !

Benefits to business

• tangible benefit

- product is legal,

- business remains legal

- product re-design can reduce costs or design out waste

- increase market share

-enhance consumer / public perception

- cost of compliance less than competitor

• intangible benefits

- contribution to environmental sustainability

- social responsibility

real challenges facing producers

• accept it - but be pro-active

• control – have you any?

• how is it all going to be done? Collection, treatment, reuse, recycling

• complying with the legislation

• does the UK have an infrastructure and treatment facilities to cope?

• avoiding excessive costs and administration

• determine their market share and costs

• demonstrate compliance

• plan future financial provision

So why do we often end up making it more complex

• endless debates

• lots of navel gazing

• few practical solutions

• no clarity

• little or no investment by industry or waste industry

• fortunes made by consultants

So why is it so complex – it never was !

• it’s waste and remains a waste – only difference is you pay more to turn it into a raw material

• evidence of compliance – the contracts with reprocessors - no extra cost

• treatment process – determines cost

• treatment and recycling – commercial market forces – only restrictions must conform to all environmental permitting conditions

• if facilities do not exist – competitive bids for doing it

• the majority of end use material will be exported

So why is it so complex- it never was!

• paying for PR compliance should only be related to getting the job done (tradeable permits add cost)

• all market share systems based on % of market share

• collection – full use of existing network LA and commercial

• data collection – by weight / protocols / mass balance

That’s why many business leave it to the experts

• market leader – this is all about managing waste and contracts

• national network contract base covering logistics and recycling

• best ideas- WEEE / ELV protocols, simplistic system of weight counting with mass balance, evidence is part of contract no extra payment for evidence, four skip collection methodology WEEE, financial provision mechanisms

• extensive knowledge of recyclate markets UK and overseas

• experts in “collective” producer responsibility provision

• commercial expertise

Summary

• PR is is not a complex science at its simplest form it’s about effective contract management

• a competitive market is vital for minimising costs

• data collection and demonstration of compliance must be simple

• evidence should have no extra cost

• visible fee is the most common sense approach

• a collective offers more advantages than doing own thing

• smart use of existing infrastructure

• how? Come and see me

Thank you

Any Questions?

Peter.gaffney@wastelink.co.uk