Membership in SERTY
Producer responsibility encompasses all electrical and electronic appliances (running from batteries, accumulators, mains current, or solar energy), which means that the importer or the manufacturer in the country of origin is responsible for the appliances’ waste management and pays a recycling fee on the appliances for this purpose. Practical operations are organised by producer associations established by these companies. Finland has five such associations: SER-tuottajayhteisö ry (SERTY), ICT Producers Co‑operative, Flip ry, SELT ry, and ERP Finland ry.
As are the other producer associations, SERTY is a not-for-profit organisation supervised by the authorities. The purpose of the association is to increase the recycling, reuse and other recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
More information at the Ministry of the Environment: producer responsibility.
With funds generated through recycling fees, the producer associations have since 2005 maintained more than 450 regional reception points where households have been able to dispose of equipment at no charge. The new Waste Act introduced collection by stores on 1 May 2013, and since then more reception points have been established for household devices.
The producer associations are responsible for the transportation of the devices to processing plants and for the recycling of materials.
New members
To be a permanent member of the association, one can be an incorporated society conducting business in Finland in the field of manufacture or import of electric and electronic equipment and must accept the rules of the association, make a commitment to paying the fee for joining the association, and enter into an agreement on joining the producer responsibility system.
The SERTY rules in force, entry and membership fees, recycling fees, and an agreement template are public documents and can be requested by email, office (at) serty.fi.
Membership enters into effect once the agreement has been signed. After that, the company receives a username and password for reporting on its equipment and an invoice for the joining fee. The annual membership fee is charged at the end of each year. By decision of the association’s meeting, the amount of the annual fee is €0.00 for the time being.
We report new members to the supervisory authority, the Pirkanmaa Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, monthly.
SERTY guides and counsels its members, engages in monitoring, and collects data on issues and regulations related to developments in the field of waste management and recycling of electric and electronic equipment. Members are sent bulletins regularly.
Member Company contact information (name, email address, and telephone number) is stored in a recycling fee reporting program to which the reporter receives IDs. SERTY’s privacy policies.
Reporting on EE equipment
Monthly, SERTY’s members use an online form to report the quantities of electric equipment (POM). Through its activities, SERTY handles the fulfilment of producer responsibility on behalf of its members. Even B2B devices, items designed only for use by businesses and not suitable for use in the home, are subject to producer responsibility.
Batteries and accumulators in devices
If an EE device contains batteries or an accumulator, the company must sign a producer liability contract with Recser Oy. For further information, please contact Recser Oy’s managing director, Liisa-Marie Stenbäck at tel. +358 10 249 1704 or by e-mail to liisa-marie.stenback [at] recser.fi.
Joining fee
SERTY has tiered subscription fees according to turnover. Joining fees cover the costs of building and maintaining the recycling infrastructure (e.g. collection point network, reporting systems, contracts).
SERTY takes care of obligations and authority reporting on behalf of its members. The recycling fees for electrical and electronic devices (powered by mains power, batteries, accumulators or solar energy) have been determined in such a way that they cover the operational costs of collection, transport and recycling processes, maintaining the collection network and equipment, as well as the solvency requirement required by the regulation (6 months’ operational costs). Recycling fees also cover administration costs.
Joining and membership fees 2024
Recycling categories and prices
Recycling fees are reported by weight, except for lamps* and fire alarms*, which are reported per piece. The weight is stated as the net weight of the device, and does not include packaging, instructions or additional parts that do not fall under the WEEE directive. Remote controls, chargers and stands for televisions and monitors are included in the device, except when they are imported as an independent, separately sold device. Batteries or accumulators that may be contained in the device are covered by separate producer responsibility (Recser Oy), and are not taken into account in the product’s weight.