§ Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if she will make a statement on the use of practices in the print cartridge manufacturing industry aimed at preventing the recycling of products; and what plans she has to regulate such practices; [126855]
(2) what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of toner cartridges which are remanufactured in the UK; what assessment she has made of the benefit this represents (a) to the environment and (b) in terms of lower imports; and if she will make a statement; 126856]
(3) what representations she has received from (a) printer cartridge manufacturers and importers and (b) printer cartridge re-manufacturers on the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive; and what response she has made to these; [126857]
(4) what plans she has to require print cartridge manufacturers to remanufacture toner cartridges returned to them by consumers after use; [126929]
(5) what her policy is on the use of prebate schemes by the print cartridge manufacturing industry intended to discourage consumers from passing on cartridges to a third party. [126930]
§ Mr. TimmsThe Department has received over 50 letters from the printer cartridge refilling industry, following a recent press article about the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive. They have written raising concerns that their operations might be put at risk if the WEEE Directive scope does not include these goods.
We have made clear in our replies that we take these concerns seriously and we are keen to see the cartridge refilling sector flourish. Officials are due to meet 514W representatives from the UK Cartridge Recyclers Association to discuss these matters. They will also be seeing the original cartridge manufacturers shortly. So far the Department have received no written representations from manufacturers of printer cartridges on these issues.
Business estimates that, at the moment, around 30–40 per cent. of toner and inkjet cartridges are re-used or recycled. The Department has made no specific assessment of the environmental benefits of this activity or of its impact on imports.
The refill industry has raised concerns related to existing technology applied to some of the goods currently sold, which prevents re-use. However, the WEEE Directive does not affect this.
The European Commission has made clear that printer cartridges do not fall within the scope of the WEEE Directive, but considers that forthcoming EU legislation on eco-design may address the issues. The Government agrees with this assessment. In the meantime, if the spread of new technology in cartridges specifically to prevent their re-use beings to impinge significantly on the independent refill market, we would want to consider what additional action might be warranted. However the Department has no present plans to intervene in the market, either in relation to manufacturers' use of probate schemes or to force them to remanufacture their own cartridges returned by consumers.
Any evidence of anti-competitive practices in the cartridge manufacturing industry would be a matter for the Office of Fair Trading.