Guidance

Submit a proposal for a WEEE compliance fee methodology

Updated 20 September 2022

The 2013 Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations established a system of household WEEE collection targets for producer compliance schemes (PCSs).

Where a PCS has failed to achieve its collection targets, the PCS can pay a compliance fee in order to meet its obligations.

Defra approves one compliance fee methodology and the administrator to run it for one compliance year only.

This guidance helps organisations consider submitting a proposal for a compliance fee methodology. It explains the 6 areas to cover in your proposal and how it will be evaluated.

Timings

You must submit your proposal by 30 September for a compliance period. Defra will not consider proposals received after that date. You can propose a methodology and an organisation to run it.

You should consult stakeholder groups before you submit your proposal.

Defra will publish all proposals and consult with interested parties including:

• producers of electrical equipment
• WEEE treatment companies
• PCSs
• local authorities
• waste management and reuse companies

The timing of the consultation will depend on the number of proposals received. The consultation period will be a minimum of 4 weeks.

Defra will announce the results by mid-February following the compliance period to which the compliance fees will apply.

This will allow time for PCSs to pay a compliance fee and include evidence of payment with their ‘Declaration of Compliance’ by the deadline of 31 March.

Use of information in proposal

The information you provide in your proposal may be subject to publication or release to other parties or to disclosure in accordance with access to information.

If you want any information to be treated as confidential, including personal data, explain in your proposal why the information is confidential or commercially sensitive. We will take this into account, but we cannot give assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be considered binding on the department.

Submit your proposal

Submit your proposal to:

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Resources and Waste Team
Seacole Building
Ground floor
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Telephone: 020 8225 6700

Email: weee@defra.gov.uk

Evaluation criteria and scoring

Your proposal needs to cover all 6 areas.

Defra will score each area, taking into account comments received from the consultation and using these descriptors:

0: Unacceptable – Nil or inadequate response. Fails to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement.

1: Poor – Response is partially relevant and poor. The response addresses some elements of the requirement but contains insufficient or limited detail or explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be fulfilled.

2: Acceptable – Response is relevant and acceptable. The response demonstrates a broad understanding of the requirement but may lack details on how the requirement will be fulfilled in certain areas.

3: Good – Response is relevant and good. The response demonstrates a good understanding of the requirement and provides sufficient details on how the requirement will be fulfilled.

4: Excellent – Response is relevant and excellent overall. The response is comprehensive, unambiguous and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the requirement, and provides details of how the requirement will be met in full.

The scores will be multiplied by the weighting for each area.

There is a maximum score of 60 marks available.

Defra will select the highest scoring proposal.

1: Proposed methodology for the calculation of the fee

Weighting: 5
Marks available: 20

Set out a methodology to calculate a compliance fee across each WEEE collection stream. The calculation should encourage schemes to take all reasonable steps to meet their collection target without recourse to the compliance fee.

Be stream specific by taking into account the different costs associated with the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of each of the 6 WEEE collection streams. For example, a PCS short of their targets by 10 tonnes of Display Equipment and 15 tonnes of Cooling Equipment will pay a fee specific to their shortage in each stream rather than a generic fee for a shortage of 25 tonnes. You may consider circumstances where a negligible or zero fee might be appropriate.

Provide robust economic analysis (including cost of living impacts) in support of the proposed methodology.

Outline worked examples of the impact of the proposed methodology on PCSs required to pay the compliance fee in a range of different scenarios. These should include:

• differing impacts on PCSs with large and small obligations
• national shortfalls or surpluses
• other factors in the methodology that might have a bearing on what PCSs are required to pay

2: Proposed administration of the fee

Weighting: 3
Marks available: 12

Describe how you will meet the overhead costs of:

• calculating the fee
• setting up and administering the compliance fee mechanism
• transferring funds

Include contingencies for a situation of minimal or zero uptake amongst PCSs.

Describe how PCSs will submit information that the proposed operator will use to calculate the fee. Include what information must be provided and how the information will be shown to be reliable whilst maintaining commercial confidentiality.

Describe how PCSs will pay the fee. Include evidence of robust auditing arrangements, to make sure declarations of payments by PCSs (if needed) are reliable, and how you will maintain commercial confidentiality.

Describe the appropriate arrangements for process and financial auditing of the compliance fee fund.

Describe how you will make sure the environment agencies receive necessary evidence that an appropriate compliance fee has been paid by PCSs. The agencies must be able to recognise, when accepting a Declaration of Compliance from a PCS, that it is comprised of WEEE evidence and payment of a compliance fee. Validation of payment of the compliance fee must not place significant additional burdens on the agencies.

Consider:

• the impact of, and comply with, other relevant law, for example competition law
• sound contingency plans

Include an evaluation feedback form for PCSs to complete following the compliance fee process.

3: Proposed methodology for dispersal of funds

Weighting: 4
Marks available: 16

Describe how payments received establish a fund from which disbursements will be made and recover the costs of administering the compliance fee process.

Show details of the mechanism for the dispersal of funds collected for varying fund sizes. Include proposals of how the fund should be used. For example, these could support higher levels of collection, recycling and legitimate reuse of WEEE.

This must address a range of scenarios of funding level and appropriate dispersal methodologies.

Set out how validation will take place to show that the funds have contributed to higher levels of collection, recycling and reuse of WEEE or wider WEEE obligations.

Set out the governance arrangements for the receipt and disbursement of any compliance fees paid.

4: Proposed timetable for implementation and operation

Weighting: 3
Marks available: 12

Provide a realistic and comprehensive plan for implementation and operation.

Show a clear process for staffing the proposals, and for developing and implementing IT systems.

Demonstrate an understanding of project dependencies and have appropriate contingency plans in place.

5: Experience of proposer and proposed operator

Weighting: 2
Marks available: 8

Demonstrate a proven track record of financial probity combined with practical experience of working in a regulatory environment.

Provide a clear strategy for identifying and effectively mitigating risks arising as a result of any conflicts of interest.

Demonstrate experience of:

• setting up systems to allow data to be submitted and processed effectively
• developing robust proposals for government

Provide evidence of the suitability of the proposed operator that will administer the Compliance Fee Process.

6: IT systems

Weighting: 1
Marks available: 4

Demonstrate an appropriate IT system, including backup systems, and IT support.