30 May 2008

Valpak secure their evidence for 2007 WEEE compliance period

Valpak, the UK's largest producer compliance scheme, is delighted to announce that they have secured all the evidence they believe is required to comply with the 2007 compliance period for WEEE.

The first compliance period for WEEE ran from 1 July 2007 until 31 December 2007. Valpak have the second largest market share with some 773 members and therefore the second largest obligation in this market place. They have secured contracts with 36 WDAs across England, Wales and Scotland (unfortunately they missed out on securing councils from Northern Ireland) and service some 190 DCF locations in partnership with a wide range of collectors and AATFs. They have been required to commit a significant effort to the task of procuring compliance at a cost effective rate for their members, but are delighted with the results they have achieved to date in this new market place for producer responsibility and recycling.

Steve Gough, Valpak Chief Executive, commented, "I am absolutely delighted with the fact that we have secured the total tonnage and mix of evidence we need to comply for the first 2007 period. Of course there have been some teething problems with the start of the regulations but this happened in packaging and it will happen in future legislation. We have used our experience and knowledge to handle the issues as they arose and our efforts have paid off."

"This success follows on the success of the Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS). The network has allowed the regulations to work effectively, providing an option to retailers who do not wish or who cannot offer in-store take back, and has facilitated the success of the producer part of the regulations"

It will now be down to BERR and the Agencies to approve any certificate of compliance for schemes by checking the evidence is correct and legal, but Valpak have reached a significant milestone by securing all of their evidence in plenty of time before the extended final deadline of 16 June.

"We would like to thank all of our Local Authority partners for working so hard with us to ensure services were up and running as soon as possible. The commitment shown to the new system by Local Authorities has been fantastic. Valpak will work with our AATF and re-use partners to ensure that we help Authorities achieve their recycling targets as well as securing the material our members need to comply," continued Mr Gough. "We have attempted to ensure that all parties involved in these regulations have been treated fairly and have made great effort to try to be responsible in our activities in this new area of producer legislation, I hope those who have worked with us recognise that."

Alan Price, Head of Procurement at Valpak, went on to add, "The procurement team firstly had great support from the WDAs we contracted with, AATFs and then from the majority of the other larger compliance schemes. It was apparent that most schemes had the best interests of their membership, their partner organisations and the regulations at heart as opposed to trying to exploit short-term profit margins from the new system"

Valpak has over 30 Local Authority partners, several re-use contracts and a network of AATF partners across the UK. In looking to the future, Duncan Simpson, Valpak Director of Marketing announced that, "We will be looking to increase our market share this year and we will be actively seeking to encourage new members to join our scheme. Valpak can provide a cost-effective, reliable and high quality service to those businesses and organisations involved in the WEEE regulations in the UK."

For further information, please contact duncan.simpson@valpak.co.uk