Mark Sayers
Principal Consultant, UK
Mark is a producer responsibility compliance specialist with over 16 years’ experience in the sector. He is a recognised expert in compliance management for producer responsibility schemes and has a deep understanding of producer responsibility legislation from the industry’s perspective. Mark joined Anthesis after 12 years at Ecosurety, a UK multi-regulation compliance scheme, where he had responsibility for compliance management for WEEE, battery and packaging producer responsibility schemes, handling recycling obligations for over 1,000 scheme members.
Mark has a thorough understanding of the technicalities of the producer responsibility laws and how they affect producers placing packaged goods, electronic devices and battery containing products onto the market. He has undertaken impact assessments across numerous new businesses and existing producers to verify that their procedures are compliant and that they are achieving the recycling targets. Mark has represented numerous clients at Environment Agency audits under the WEEE and Packaging Regulations since 2005, helping the regulator to understand the business activities and how the obligations of the producer have been fully met. This has enabled clients to achieve positive audit results and gain reassurance that they have met their obligations.
Mark has also overseen major enforcement undertakings for non-compliant packaging producers, supporting them to become compliant and assisting in the successful approval of the Civil Sanction case by the Environment Agency’s review panel. This has involved evaluating liabilities, calculating avoided costs and additional fees payable for the enforcement undertaking and nominating suitable benefactors. Mark has expertise in helping clients through the bureaucracy of proactive and reactive enforcement undertakings and the process that is necessary to be successful and avoid complex and costly court cases.
Mark’s wider expertise includes developing new take-back systems with logistics operators and producers, allowing them to offset recycling obligations and provide rebates for waste product returns. He has worked closely with Defra, the Environment Agency, industry associations and recyclers to bring coherence, identify common goals, and achieve improvements to the producer responsibility system. This has included through roles as policy lead, industry representative and scheme representative for government working groups on aspects of the WEEE producer responsibility system.
