Recycling price rise on electrical goods

The price of most electrical goods will rise this morning amid a three-way row between the Government, retailers and the Consumers' Association of Ireland over the cost of recycling obsolete electrical goods.

Major retailers and producers of electrical goods have not responded positively to the Minister for the Environment's invitation to absorb new recycling charges, and costs of up to €40 are to be applied to goods from today.

The ESB, which is planning to vacate its 54-strong chain of retail stores by the end of the year, said it would be passing on the charges. "If a fridge cost €300 in our shops yesterday and there is an additional €20 charge today, we will be charging €320 for that fridge from today," a spokesman said.

Pat Finnerty of Power City said it was not company policy to make comments to the media on any issue. Mr Finnerty said recent press advertising by the company would indicate their attitude.

The advertisements in the national press advised consumers to buy appliances before August 13th as prices would increase.

A spokeswoman for DID Electrical in Dublin said the company was not prepared to say if prices would rise. She said a spokesman may be available to discuss the subject "next week". In the southwest, the former Dairygold stores, now rebranded as 4Home, issued a statement describing the charges, which they intend to pass on to the consumer, as "hidden taxation". VAT would now be placed on the charge as the charge would be built into the product price, said managing director Simon Healy. "It could only be described as a tax on tax."

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprise association said the "onerous requirements" would add significant costs for smaller companies and it called on the Government to carry out an impact assessment to establish the effect of the regulations on smaller businesses.

Minister for the Environment Dick Roche spent much of yesterday on the telephone from Ljubljana in Slovenia, where he is on holiday, speaking to retailers and the Environmental Protection Agency about the scheme.

The Minister told The Irish Times he expected "teething problems" as the situation was "a whole new ball game" for producers and retailers and he anticipated that there may be "one or two" retailers who did not yet appreciate their obligations.

He warned that the EPA would be "extremely vigilant in their policing of the scheme" and he was "confident that the industry will rise to the challenge".

Meanwhile, the row between the Consumers' Association and the WEEE Register - one of the approved bodies set up to run the scheme - deepened yesterday.

Dermott Jewell of the Consumers' Association rejected criticism from Leo Donovan, chief executive of the WEEE Register, accusing Mr Donovan of "clearly misunderstanding the association's call for a boycott of retailers who sought to pass on charges".

Mr Jewell said: "Obviously he is not aware that the Consumers' Association of Ireland lobbied for the introduction of the scheme." He referred to regulations published by Mr Roche last July which the Minister said "clear the way for producer-funded recycling".

"It is obvious the consumer is now being asked to cover the cost of the producers' waste, which is not what the polluter-pays principle is about," he said.