WDO Approves OES Recommended Changes to the WEEE Program Plan with Modifications

After a three month consultation process with service providers and other interested stakeholders, OES delivered a report containing recommended changes to the approved WEEE Program Plan to the June 23rd WDO Board meeting.  Following this meeting, OES was asked to prepare and submit additional substantiation and analysis for the July 28th WDO Board meeting. The WDO Board considered the information and decided to approve the OES recommended changes with several modifications/additions. This issue of Bits & Bytes provides an overview of the approved program changes.

At the WDO Board’s direction, OES is establishing a forum to provide regular dialogue with Approved Collectors, Processors and Reuse/Refurbisher Organizations during implementation of the initiatives as outlined below.

Please note the following important dates in your calendar (more information will follow):

Tuesday, September 14, 2010 meeting in Toronto and via conference call (details to be provided)

• WEEE Stakeholder Forum – a first meeting of a forum intended to provide information to and solicit feedback from approved collectors, processors and reuse/refurbishment organizations regarding implementation of the approved program plan changes. Registration is required by Friday, September 10, 2010.

Monday, September 27, 2010 meeting in Toronto and via conference call (details to be provided)

• A second meeting of the forum that will detail processes and procedures related to the October 4, 2010 commencement of the Processor Incentive and the Reuse & Refurbishment Incentive.

1.  RFP to Procure Processing Services from Approved Processors
OES has been operating a consolidation system where electronic waste is picked up from Approved Collectors and transported to consolidation sites by companies under contract to OES. At the consolidation sites, incoming e-waste is checked to confirm it is comprised only of Phase 1 material and pallets and gaylords are weighed. As some processors only accept certain types of electronic waste, the mixed loads of collected e-waste are segregated by type (e.g. monitors, computers, etc.) to compile full loads of the type of electronic waste required by the Approved Processor scheduled to receive the material.

A methodology was required to determine which WEEE processor would receive WEEE from the consolidation sites. Prior to the launch of the Phase 1 WEEE Program Plan, OES issued a request for proposals (RFP) to processors able to comply with the Electronic Recycling Standard (ERS). Proposals were evaluated using a scoring system described in the RFP with all bidders receiving a portion of the total WEEE based on their relative score.

To date, twelve processors have been audited against the ERS and have been approved by OES. As the number of processors increases, it has become impractical to divide the collected WEEE among all Approved Processors.

OES consulted with processors in order to develop modifications to the RFP process. The following revisions will come into effect for processor contracts starting December 1, 2010. (Note: The existing processor contracts expire September 30, 2010 but will be extended 60 days in order to provide sufficient time to complete the RFP process.)

The following revisions will come into effect for processor contracts starting December 1, 2010:

2.  Incentives for Approved Primary Processors
As noted above, OES operates a consolidation system where electronic waste is picked up from Approved Collectors and transported to consolidation sites by companies under contract to OES. All e-waste managed under the program is collected by OES Approved Collectors or at OES Round-up events.

To expand the methods by which electronic waste can be collected, OES is implementing a series of incentives for collection, transportation and processing of e-waste that would be available to Approved Processors effective on October 4, 2010.

Approved Processors can arrange to provide collection, transportation and processing services for residential as well as IC&I generators of electronic waste.

OES is currently reviewing whether WEEE sourced from stewards will be eligible for collection, transportation and processing incentives. As stewards currently contract directly for recycling of WEEE under their control, alternative options for tracking WEEE managed by stewards are being considered. This issue will be considered at the September 14 meeting of the WEEE Stakeholder Forum.

Approved Collectors can choose to opt out of the OES collection and transportation system and to contract directly with an Approved Processor. Details of the options available to Approved Collectors will be provided in advance of the first Stakeholders Forum.

Approved Processors will be eligible for the incentives set out in the table below, based on the Approved Processor’s recycling efficiency rate for the material and subject to completion of the tracking system documentation so that OES can meet its obligation to track program materials from collection to final disposition.

At the WDO Board’s direction, OES will be implementing an independent study of Approved Processor recycling costs to assess whether the Processor Incentives are appropriate. Based on the results of this study, the Processor Incentives may be adjusted retroactive to the commencement date of the incentive system.

3.  Incentive for Approved Reuse & Refurbishment (R&R) Organizations
Under the Phase 1 WEEE Program Plan, OES implemented a Reuse and Refurbishment Standard against which reuse and refurbishment organizations were audited. Approved Reuse and Refurbishment Organizations received no-cost removal of refurbishment scrap material and were required to report the number of units reused and the jurisdiction in which the reused units were distributed. However, reporting by Approved Reuse and Refurbishment Organizations has been inconsistent and data on reuse activities were incomplete for Year 1.

OES is implementing a reuse reporting incentive of $0.25 per whole working unit to offset the administration costs associated with reporting and to provide an incentive for Approved Reuse and Refurbishment Organizations to provide data on their reuse activities to OES.

While considering the OES proposals for the $0.25 reuse reporting incentive and the processor incentives described in Section 2.4, the WDO Board considered how to meet its obligation to seek to ensure that the marketplace is affected in a fair manner. Recognizing that reuse and refurbishment organizations may compete with processors for access to electronic waste feedstock, the WDO Board decided to add a reuse incentive of $1.75 per whole working unit, such as computers, monitors, printers, copiers, scanners, televisions and fax machines, available to Approved Reuse and Refurbishment Organizations.

To be eligible for the $0.25 per whole working unit reporting incentive and the $1.75 per whole working unit reuse incentive available on October 4, 2010, reuse and refurbishment organizations must:

• Be audited by an independent third party against the OES Reuse and Refurbishment Standard including requirements for data security and data wiping;

• Meet the reporting obligations set out in the Reuse and Refurbishment Agreement including providing the source and destination of the reused items so that OES can meet its obligation to track program materials from collection to final disposition.

OES is currently reviewing whether WEEE sourced from stewards will be eligible for reuse incentives. As stewards currently contract directly for reuse of WEEE under their control, alternative options for tracking WEEE managed by stewards are being considered. This issue will be considered at the September 14 meeting of the WEEE Stakeholder Forum.

At the WDO Board’s direction, OES will be implementing an independent study of Approved Reuse and Refurbishment Organization reuse costs to assess whether the Reuse Incentives are appropriate. Based on the results of this study, the Reuse Incentives may be adjusted retroactive to the commencement date of the incentive system.
OES looks forward to working collaboratively with our service providers in the implementation of these program changes to meet our Year 2 targets in tonnes collected, reused and recycled.

For more information
1-888-646-1820 or customerservice@ontarioelectronicstewardship.ca