site.btaAmerican Chamber of Commerce Condemns Sharp Increase in E-Waste Recovery Fees on Businesses

The American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria (AmCham) issued a statement on Thursday against the drastic eight- to ten-fold increase of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recovery fees on businesses.

AmCham stated that this spike is perplexing both for the lack of justification for its necessity and for the ways in which it has been implemented, considering the lack of transparency, the simultaneous decision of three of the four WEEE recovery organizations, and the lack of dialogue. Among the group of businesses affected are companies that import and manufacture household appliances, heat exchange equipment, photovoltaic systems, information technology and communications equipment, lighting, and more. One likely consequence in terms of final price for consumers is an increase of at least 10% in the cheapest appliances, which are also among the most widely sold.

According to AmCham, numerous public sources show that there are no objective market and economic reasons for such an increase.