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 thinkstep's Producer Compliance Scheme include:
- Start-up costs to establish suitable WEEE collection, treatment and recycling arrangements Annual fees which cover membership from Jan 1, 2023
- 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, thinkstep provides a web-based system for WEEE collection, treatment, and recovery (see www.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 thinkstep as early as possible to check the suitability of their arrangements. thinkstep's audit report will identify any actions that would be required to upgrade these arrangements to meet requirements for the applicant to join thinkstep'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.
Recycling arrangements for thinkstep's web-based system
As part of thinkstep's B2BWEEE web-based compliance management system, thinkstep 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 Jan 1, 2023)
The annual membership fee must be paid by 1 January each year for membership during that same year.
The annual membership fee covers compliance reporting and payment of annual producer registration charges to the Environment Agency.
At the start of each compliance period thinkstep 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, thinkstep 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 registered office in the U.K. and placing more than 5 tonnes of EEE on the UK market, who wants a thinkstep web-based system for the UK only
| Item | Cost in 2023 |
|---|---|
| thinkstep web-based system for the UK only | £4,000 |
| 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 | £1,860 |
| Total cost in 2023 | £6,195 plus £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport) |
| 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 | £1,860 |
| Total annual cost | £2,595 plus £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport) |
Example fees for a Member with a registered office in the U.K. and placing more than 5 tonnes of EEE on the UK market, who wants an thinkstep web-based system for the UK, France and Germany
| Item | Cost in 2023 |
|---|---|
| thinkstep web-based system for the UK, France and Germany | £6,000 |
| Recycling cost | £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport) |
| Data reporting by recycler for UK, France and Germany | £1,005 |
| Joining fee for membership of UK Producer Compliance Scheme | £1,860 |
| Total cost in 2023 | £8,865 plus £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport) |
| 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 | £1,005 |
| Joining fee for membership of UK Producer Compliance Scheme | £1,860 |
| Total annual cost | £3,465 plus £110 per tonne of WEEE sent to recycler (does not include transport) |
Please Note all figures are quoted ex-VAT
