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RSS FeedShould consumers or OEMs (manufacturers) be responsible for paying e-waste fees?
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| Consumers | 34% | 47 votes | Total: 137 votes | |
| OEMs | 66% | 90 votes |
Consumers
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Add to FavoritesWarning! This is a REALITY CHECK. Those who wish to remain in fairy tale land should stop reading now!
The facts are this, where ever you asses the e-waste fee, at the manufacturer level or at the consumer level, the consumer will pay the fee. That's it, done deal, no doubt about it. So the question becomes "Is it better for the consumer to pay e-waste fee as a separate item on the ticket, or as a part of the purchase price of the merchandise?" Let's examine both options. For that purpose let's assume a flat fee of fifty cents per consumable electronic item.
If the government charges the fee at the consumer level, the consumer pays whatever the assessed fee is at the time of purchase. If the fee is fifty cents per item, the consumer pays fifty cents per item at the time of the purchase and that's the end of that. Total cost to the consumer per item is fifty cents.
Now let's look at a fee imposed on the manufacturer. The government imposes a fee of fifty cents per item sold. The manufacturer isn't going to eat that cost. They will pass it on in the price. But there is additional paperwork involved in tracking the fee money and passing it along to old Uncle Sam. So they raise the price fifty two cents. The item is then sold to a retail outlet. Retail outlets stay in business by maintaining a profit margin. So they raise their price too. But profit margins are percentages. For simplicity let's use ten percent in this example. The retail outlet would then raise the item price by five cents. There is no fee to pay at purchase, but the total cost to the consumer just went up by fifty seven cents. That is a seven cent net loss over the consumer paid fee.
It ain't rocket science folks. The higher up the chain you impose the fee, the more it will cost at the consumer end. Think snowballs here, the higher up the hill you start rolling it, the bigger it will be at the bottom.
Learn more about this author, Rev. R. D. Brown.
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OEMs
The OEMs and, therefore, the 'consumers' should pay for the cost of e-waste.
If the OEMs pay the e-waste fees, then the OEMs will raise the product cost that the wholesalers pay for the manufactured products. In turn, this higher wholesale cost will be passed along to the retailers. This means that, At the final point of product purchase, the 'consumer' ends up paying for e-waste, if the OEM incurs the up-front cost of that waste.
Therefore, yes, the OEMs should pay for the e-waste, but then we consumers will end up paying for that e-waste through higher retail prices; and that is as it should be.
In the US economy, here is the basic "raw product to consumer market channel" breakdown:
1) The OEM (the manufacturer) creates/builds a needed product (or one that is in demand).
2) The wholesaler purchases and distributes that product to the various appropriate retail outlets.
3) The retail outlets then sell the finished, marked-up product to the consumer (a.k.a. the end-user).
Along that infamous channel of "getting the product from the raw material into the consumer's hands," all manufacturing, packaging, marketing, advertising and sales costs, in some form or fashion, ultimately are passed along to the consumer. Therefore, OEM payment of any e-waste cost is the appropriate way to absorb and distribute such cost in our market-driven economy.
As it stands now, the consumer alone is bearing this unexpected cost. As an example, ask yourself: "What did I do with my last outdated monitor, computer, large-screen television or other electronic device?" Assuming you are the typical 'responsible citizen,' you likely took such devices to an e-waste disposal facility or, if you are fortunate, your city or municipality has a government-sponsored e-waste drop-off location. In most cases, such e-waste disposal, even the ones that are government-run, require that the consumer pay some small fee to drop off the e-waste.
If the consumer alone pays the e-waste fees, then the OEM escapes what rightfully should be part of its cost of doing business. If the OEM pays the e-waste cost, that cost then will get properly spread along the product chain to the consumer. Additionally, if the OEM incurs the up-front cost, such cost is more easily and readily absorbed and is more evenly spread among the consuming end-users.
In conclusion, requiring the consumer to pay e-waste costs is unfair and one-sided; therefore, yes, the OEMs should pay the e-waste fees, by building such costs into the overall product manufacturing cost.
Learn more about this author, Jeff Mason.
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