Consultation on the proposed amendments to 2013 WEEE Regulations Draft Response The Lighting Industry Association November 2017

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Consultation on the proposed amendments to 2013 WEEE Regulations Draft Response The Lighting Industry Association November 2017 Question 1 To what extent have we accurately assessed the impacts of a

1 Consultation on the proposed amendments to 2013 WEEE Regulations Draft Response The Lighting Industry Association November 2017 Question 1 To what extent have we accurately assessed the impacts of a move to a six-category system? Very accurately Not accurately Comment/Further Evidence Clearly moving to 6 categories will have an impact on businesses and the LIA welcome the work that has been carried out and appreciate that producers have been consulted previously through impact assessments to establish set up costs. We do have a concern that currently much of the lighting sector will be sitting outside of the WEEE compliance system, or at a very minimum, producers will be registered as small producers, and there is a possibility that the one-off familiarisation costs of 371 K have not been included. The LIA would look to understand how this figure is calculated. Question 2 To what extent have we accurately assessed the impacts of a move to a sixcategory system? Very accurately Not accurately Within the Impact assessment there are useful references to the issue relating to divisional costs. We agree that additional costs will be minimal with regards to set up, and clearly producers that are currently sitting outside of the producer compliance system will have the associated set up costs irrespective in We do believe there will be some additional protocol sampling checks to ensure that we record CAT 5 Lighting in the mixed stream and the LIA would welcome the opportunity to support this in conjunction with its in-house compliance scheme Lumicom and LIA member PCS Recolight.

2 Question 3 To what extent have we accurately assessed the impacts of a move to a sixcategory system? Very accurately Not accurately The LIA would offer the same response to question 1. Question 4 Please rank each of the 3 options in your order of preference: 1st choice: Option 2 2nd choice: Option 1 3rd choice: Option 3 Question 5 Please provide any further comments. We are particularly interested in comments on transition to Options 1 & 3 and information or evidence in support of your answers to questions 1-4. The LIA have the following comments: Option 1 The LIA believe that Option 3 is the least palatable to the sector. The principle reasons are as follows: - Domestic Luminaires have been out of scope since the WEEE regulations became legislation in As a result there is no physical reported data that we can use to establish future trends for domestic lighting equipment. - There will be new challenges with regards to collection targets. The total collection target for the UK is due to increase in 2019, with a collection target of 65% of the average EEE sales for the previous 3 years. Under both a 6 and a 9 category system we will lose visibility of the data trends, and lighting producers could find themselves with incorrect targets. There will also be an issue with the measurement of future performance against this category. - Large decorative producers will have a requirement to pay for the disposal of Large Equipment, PV panels will be categorised within this category and although for a decade or so this will reduce the average costs for this category, in the very long term, it creates a liability for the category. - There is the added impact of additional products that are currently not in scope, which makes it difficult to make an assessment of additional costs for both the 6 and 9 category systems. (Such as sockets, plugs and switches). - If we move to 6 categories there will be challenges with how the small and large

3 measurements are taken principally: o How will the plus 50 CMS measurement be taken? Will this be when the product is fully assembled? Or will it be when it is packaged for shipment? o How will we deal with cable? (Decorative pendants with long cables) Option 2 This is the LIA s preferred option for the following reasons. - Provides clarity with Lighting Equipment being categorised separately for all products placed on the market target setting will therefore be significantly easier, with trends available from No issues with the classification of small and large products, and measurement rules. - Protocols will be applied for the collection of WEEE from DCF s all of which can be assessed to ensure that producers pay for their obligation. - No requirement to cross-subsidise other material stream s. Due to the nature of changing targets and other materials that will enter the stream, we believe that option 2 provides the best option for the lighting sector in terms of understanding costs. To help better understand the move to open scope and the breadth of additional EEE products which are likely to come into scope, it would be helpful if respondents to the consultation could highlight products likely to be captured by this change. Building a picture now of the additional products and product groups will assist in developing and expanding guidance on scope matters. It will also assist in focussing any communication messages leading up to the introduction of open scope to relevant businesses. Question 6: Please list any products that you believe would be brought into scope of the Regulations following the move to open scope: - Domestic and Dual use Luminaires - Sockets and Plugs, Light switches, ceiling rose/lampholder sets. Question 7 Do you support the government s proposal to amend the Regulations to make membership of the PBS a mandatory requirement?

4 Yes / no /don t know Yes Comments The LIA support the mandatory joining of a balancing system that is approved by govt. The LIA s producer compliance scheme Lumicom has been supportive of this mechanism since the start, and believe that this is a fair mechanism to ensure that regulation 34 requests are dealt with. Our issue currently is that there is a number of PCS s (along with the producer members) that are not part of the mechanism and therefore the burden of cost remains with those schemes that are currently members and leads to a distortion in the market place. The LIA would suggest that a PBS system must be approved by govt. with an opportunity to be tendered periodically, with a minimum contract length of 3 years. Question 8 Do you agree with the principle that EEE producer registration fees should be allocated to the regulator in the nation in which that producer is based? Yes/No/Don t know Response Yes Comment: The LIA are aware that the Environment Agency is currently under-recovering costs, a key factor for this will be as a result of compliance tourism this is the practice of schemes registering in a nation that offers a reduced cost of compliance, however the company is domiciled in another nation. There is due to be a consultation to review Environmental Charges, however this could easily promote the migration of producers to other regions which offer lower membership charges. In-short the LIA supports this proposal. Question 9 On a scale of 1-5 please score the extent to which the 2013 WEEE Regulations achieved the objective of increasing levels of WEEE recovery, recycling and re-use

5 in the UK? No impact High impact Comment (including ideas for improvement) The LIA believes that this is down to interpretation, but would like to present the following facts for consideration: Initially looking at luminaires Cat B2B , , , B2C Total CAT , , , The above data is taken from Environment Agency data reports. This represents an increase of 227% since However, if we review tonnage collected expressed as a percentage of the total product placed on market we see a small increase in the percentage of luminaires recycled when compared to the total product placed on market. CAT POM Recycled Percentage of POM 2% 4% 4% 6% Looking at lamps, below is a summary of the increase since CAT B2B 4, , B2C , , , Total CAT 13 5, , , , This represents an increase 14% since Again, if we review tonnage collected expressed as a percentage of the total lamps placed on market, we see that the percentage recycled has increased from 30% in 2014 to 52% in The decline in percentage from 2013 to 2014 was attributable to the inclusion of LED lamps alongside gas discharge lamps in the put on market data, and so 2014 is the right starting point, to ensure a like-for-like

6 comparison. CAT POM 10, , , , Recycled 5, , , , Percentage of POM 53% 30% 46% 52% There is minimal reuse currently carried out in the lighting sector, with the exception of some luminaires, but this is very limited and not currently tracked. Given the technology change that is resulting in huge improvements in energy efficiency, reuse is largely inappropriate in our sector. We believe that more work needs to be completed to ensure all WEEE is counted and the public is fully aware of its obligations to ensure that all WEEE is disposed of correctly. WEEE is more than likely leaving the system and this should be addressed by education and development of awareness. Question 10 To what extent have the 2013 WEEE Regulations acted as a stimulus to investment in WEEE re-use, recycling and reprocessing capacity? No impact High impact Comments (including ideas for improvement) There is currently an over capacity in lamp treatment facilities in the UK, that said lamp recycling facilities require constant investment to ensure they are operating to the best standards. As mercury bearing lamps reduce we could see a situation where capacity reduces as processors move to other waste streams. The sector will need to keep a watch on this. Question 11 To what extent have the 2013 WEEE Regulations addressed concerns arising from the previous WEEE Regulations that the amount producers had to pay through producer compliance schemes was often much higher that the true costs of collection and treatment of WEEE? No impact High impact Comments (including ideas for improvement and/or details of unforeseen

7 consequences) The LIA would look for producers to provide thoughts or respond directly. Question 12 To what extent has the introduction of authorised representatives addressed the challenge of ensuring internet sellers based outside the UK are registered as producers in the UK? No impact High impact Comment (including ideas for further measures) The Environment Agency has advised that the total number of Authorised Representatives appointed in the UK since 2013 is just 1. At the same time, the UK consultancy Eunomia, in a report prepared for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have estimated that the level of freeriding through online retailers and fulfilment houses is 5-10% of all EEE and more for smaller electrical products. A recent study into the extent of online freeriding in the UK was published in September In the study, a search for an LED bulb on an online retailer/fulfilment house revealed the following: 91 of first 120 records were free-riders (The producer was not listed on the UK register of WEEE compliant companies, published monthly by the Environment Agency) Of those 91 free-riders: 15 were EU based 2 were US based 74 were China/Hong Kong based Of those 91 free-riders: 65 had product available for next day delivery. This implies that the non-compliant stock was already held in a UK based warehouse. Virtually all items listed were multi-packs of LED bulbs, with large numbers of recent English language reviews, implying large numbers of sales. A legal review of one fulfilment house contract shows that the producer, wherever they are based, is responsible for all compliance issues, including WEEE/packaging/batteries, VAT, import duty, CE marking etc. In other words, the producer, wherever they are based is also, for the purposes of WEEE, the importer. Given that there are so few ARs appointed in the UK, it is evident that this has not addressed this large and growing online freeriding problem. The lighting sector is being significantly impacted by the competitive disadvantage this places on legitimate businesses.

8 Regarding ideas for improvement, the online freeriding problem was discussed at a major workshop in Brussels, in September The workshop concluded that online sellers and fulfilment houses should be legally required to take on the duties of producer under the WEEE directive for the product they sell or stock on behalf of non WEEE registered companies. We would urge the Government to adopt this approach for WEEE, and other extended producer responsibility regimes. The impact of freeriding through online retailers and fulfilment houses is serious. It is damaging to legitimate and compliant businesses in our sector, and risks undermining the sustainable financing of WEEE. The LIA would strongly urge Defra to take action on this as a matter of urgency. Question 13 Please tell us if there is anything else you wish to say in relation to Open Scope, the regulatory post implementation review, or other possible regulatory amendments proposed in this consultation. No Further comments

Summary of the Impact Assessment

Summary of the Impact Assessment COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Brussels, 3.12.2008 SEC(2008) 2934 C6-0472/08 COMMISSION STAFF WORKING PAPER accompanying the Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL