EEE fees and the WEEE system - A model of efficiency and income in European countries

Countries have been adjusting their electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) fees since the European directive for the control of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) entered into force. Using a novel data set collected by the team, our results show that EEE fees are negatively adjusted to the country's income per capita, with a 0.7% decrease in the fee for 1% increase in GDP per capita (GDPpc) for Large Household Appliances, but a positive association of a 0.8% increase for the Cool and Freezing category. For collection rates, a positive association is shown for Lamps and a negative association for Small Household Appliances, and Cooling and Freezing. Following a robustness check using capital and labour costs, we conclude that only labour costs contribute to fees, following a similar pattern to GDPpc. We broadly consider the observed relations weaker than expected and rather heterogeneous, which may be the result of the current lack of binding European policy in this matter. Considering the final EEE consumer, who could be responsible for the payment of the fee, and the extended Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) that receives it, we propose that fee levels should reflect both the countries' income per capita of consumers and the collection rates from WEEE suppliers. We also advise, towards the implementation of better transparency, good practices that include public availability of data and background calculation of fees.