Membership fees

Companies must join an approved Producer Compliance Scheme within 28 days of putting Electrical and Electronic Equipment on the market in the UK.

Fees associated with ENVIRON's Producer Compliance Scheme include:

  • Start-up costs to establish suitable WEEE collection, treatment and recycling arrangements
  • Joining fees which cover membership for the first 9 months up to 31 December 2007
  • Annual fees which cover membership from 31 December 2007

These costs are discussed in the following sections. The costs for different membership options for UK companies are summarised in a cost table.

Start-up costs (to establish suitable WEEE collection, treatment and recycling arrangements)

For companies who do not have any arrangements in place, ENVIRON provides a web-based system for WEEE collection, treatment, and recovery (see b2bweee.com for details). This includes a single contract to cover WEEE recycling and data reporting (tonnes of WEEE collected and percentage recycled and recovered) across EU Member States.

Companies who wish to use their own arrangements for WEEE collection, treatment, and recycling should request an audit from ENVIRON as early as possible to check the suitability of their arrangements. ENVIRON's audit report will identify any actions that would be required to upgrade these arrangements to meet requirements for the applicant to join ENVIRON's Producer Compliance Scheme. This should not be left to the last minute!

Suitable WEEE collection, treatment, and recycling arrangements must be in place before the end of the compliance period in which the company becomes a member of the scheme.

Product / Service Members using ENVIRON's arrangements Members using their own arrangements
Audit of Member's own arrangements to assess compliance with WEEE regulations and waste management regulations n/a £1000 to £4000 depending on size, complexity and basis of Member's arrangements
ENVIRON's B2BWEEE web-based compliance management system £3000 for web platform, WEEE consulting, and report plus £1000 per country for WEEE collection, treatment and recycling arrangements.
For example, a web-based system providing WEEE collection, treatment and recycling arrangements for the UK only would cost £4000 whereas a system to cover UK, Germany, and France would cost £6000.
n/a

Recycling arrangements for ENVIRON's web-based system

As part of ENVIRON's B2BWEEE web-based compliance management system, ENVIRON provides a single contract to cover WEEE recycling and annual data reporting in as many EU Member States as the company may require. The costs comprise:

  • The actual costs to recycle the actual quantity of WEEE which is sent back to the recycler each year in each Member State. The recycling cost is typically around £110 per tonne of WEEE (varies depending on type of equipment and country and does not include transport)
  • The cost for annual data reporting by the recycler (tonnes of WEEE received at the recycler and percentage recycled and recovered to demonstrate that the WEEE Directive targets have been met). This is a fixed annual cost of £335 per country per year.
  • We recommend that the producer should insert a clause into its Sales Terms and Conditions which requires the end-user to pay for collection and transportation costs. However, if the producer would prefer to pay for collection and transportation costs itself, then the typical transport cost is £20 per shipment.

Annual fees (covers membership from 31 December 2007)

The annual membership fee must be paid by 31 December each year.

The annual membership fee covers compliance reporting and payment of annual producer registration charges to the Environment Agency.

VAT / Turnover of Company Members using ENVIRON's arrangements Members using their own arrangements
Members not registered, and not required to register, for VAT £953 £953
VAT registered Members with turnover in 2007 of £1 million or less £1143 £1143
VAT registered Members with turnover in 2007 of more than £1 million £1368 £1368
Annual Surveillance Questionnaire to identify if there have been any changes to your WEEE collection and recycling arrangements * n/a £150 *
Annual update to ensure Member's WEEE website continues to comply with waste management legislation Annual fee is based on 10% of our initial costs. For example, annual update fee for a WEEE website for UK only would be £400 per year, whereas the annual update fee for a WEEE website to cover UK, France and Germany would be £600 per year. n/a

* At the start of each compliance period ENVIRON will issue a surveillance questionnaire which requires you to identify if there have been any changes to your WEEE collection and recycling arrangements. The charge for this annual surveillance questionnaire is £150. If your statements on the questionnaire indicate that there have been changes to your collection and recycling arrangements, ENVIRON will agree a fee with you to audit these changes to assess compliance with the WEEE Regulations and waste management legislation.

Example fees for a Member with a turnover of more than £1 million who wants an ENVIRON web-based system for the UK only

Costs in 2008
Item Cost in 2008
ENVIRON web-based system for the UK only £4000
Recycling cost £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport)
Data reporting by recycler for UK only £335
Joining fee for membership of UK Producer Compliance Scheme £1368
£5703 plus £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport)
Annual costs from 2009
Item Annual cost
Annual update of web-based system for the UK only £400
Recycling cost £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport)
Data reporting by recycler for UK only £335
Joining fee for membership of UK Producer Compliance Scheme £1368
£2103 plus £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport)

Example fees for a Member with a turnover of more than £1 million who wants an ENVIRON web-based system for the UK, France and Germany

Costs in 2008
Item Cost in 2008
ENVIRON web-based system for the UK, France and Germany £6000
Recycling cost £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport)
Data reporting by recycler for UK, France and Germany £1005
Joining fee for membership of UK Producer Compliance Scheme £1368
£8373 plus £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport)
Annual costs from 2009
Item Annual cost
Annual update of web-based system for the UK, France and Germany £600
Recycling cost £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport)
Data reporting by recycler for the UK, France and Germany £1005
Joining fee for membership of UK Producer Compliance Scheme £1368
£2973 plus £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport)

N.B. All figures are quoted ex-VAT.

For further information, please contact Aidan Turnbull
Head of WEEE, RoHS & EcoDesign on +44 (0)1225 748420