BAR warns: Reducing e-waste fees threatens the budget

The Bulgarian Recycling Association (BRA) has lashed out against the cutting of product fees

The BRA has expressed serious concerns regarding the Ministry of Environment and Water's (MOEW) plan to drastically reduce fees for waste electrical and electronic equipment. According to the organization, this is being done without an in-depth environmental and financial assessment.

The product fee accounts for less than 1% of the final price of appliances – just a few cents for a phone and up to five euros for a large household appliance, the industry insists.

Main risks according to the BRA:

• Financial instability: It is impossible to process increasing volumes of waste with reduced resources.
• Environmental risk: The import of equipment has increased 10-fold over the last decade, exceeding 200,000 tons per year.
• Damage to the treasury: The projected losses to the state budget are estimated at between 400 and 600 million euros.

The MOEW states that the goal of the changes is to create a more predictable business environment without compromising the country's high environmental standards.