From 1 July 2021, the National Environment Agency (NEA) will implement the Extended Producer Responsibility System for E-Waste Management (EPR System). This will have a significant impact on the prices of personal mobility aids (PMA) in Singapore, especially mobility scooters.
NEA has awarded ALBA Group Plc & Co. KG (ALBA) the license to operate a Producer Responsibility Scheme (PRS) in Singapore. As the PRS Operator, ALBA will collect regulated consumer electrical and electronic waste across Singapore for proper treatment and recycling on behalf of producers, for a period of five years, from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2026.
A company is a Producer of a regulated electrical and electronic product if it:
- Carries on the business of supplying the regulated product in Singapore; and
- In the furtherance of that business:
- Imports the regulated product into Singapore; or
- Manufactures the regulated product in Singapore; or
- Engages another person to manufacture the regulated product in Singapore or otherwise causes such manufacture.
Electric Mobility Devices (EMD) are regulated products. These include:
- Personal Mobility Devices
- Power Assisted Bicycles
- Electric Mobility Scooters
Producers of EMDs are required to fund the PRS Operator by paying two types of fees.
The first is a Membership Fee of $155,001.00, to be shared between all producers, with the cost allocated based on market share. Market share is derived by taking the tonnage supplied by the producer divided by the total tonnage supplied by all producers.
The second is the Collection and Recycling Fee of $1.18 per kg. ALBA will collect and work out the total tonnage of EMDs collected each quarter and charge the cost to the producers, which is again allocated based on the relative market share of each producer.
What does this mean for mobility scooter buyers? The total PRS cost, including membership and recycling fees, works out to about $2 per kg. This is a significant cost, which sellers will find difficult to absorb.
For example, our top-selling personal mobility aid (PMA), the Budget-Lite 4-Wheel Mobility Scooter, weighs 47 kg and costs $1,198. Therefore, its PRS cost is:
$2 x 47 kg = $94.
The PRS cost is equivalent to 8% of the retail price! The typical profit margin of a distribution business is 5% or so. Unless an EMD producer is making huge margins, which is highly unlikely due to the competitive market, there is no way it is going to survive without passing on the cost to customers.
Thus, with a heavy heart, Falcon Mobility announces that with effect from 1 July 2021, there will be a general price increase of between $50 to $165 for all its mobility scooters. Customers are encouraged to make their purchases by 30 June 2021 to avoid the price increase.
For more information regarding the EPR system, please visit:
https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/waste-management/3r-programmes-and-resources/e-waste-management/extended-producer-responsibility-(epr)-system-for-e-waste-management-system