Firms attack French electronic waste plan

Date: 14/12/00

By Peter Chapman

PARIS is pushing for a compromise deal on a draft EU law which industry claims could add billions of euro to the cost of recycling electrical products from computers to refrigerators.

The warning from engineering lobby group Orgalime comes as the French presidency tries to secure an agreement on the proposed directive on recycling scrap electrical and electronic equipment at next Monday's (18 December) meeting of environment ministers.

The group's secretary-general Adrian Harris says Paris' latest proposed changes to the European Commission's plan would allow member states to make industry - and not local councils - responsible for collecting waste products from consumers.

Harris warns that this could double the €40-billion bill his sector already faces for recycling 'historical' waste - material already on the market before the directive is approved. It would also add an extra €7.5 billion to the annual cost of treating new waste products.

Worse still, says Harris, is another planned change to Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström's original proposals which would reduce from five years to 18 months the deadline for firms to comply with new obligations.

Harris claims the key problem is that Paris wants to fast-track a deal before the European Parliament gets a chance to examine the waste proposals in detail. "Our concern is that there is too much pressure to arrive at an agreement when there are lots of points that are still outstanding," said Harris, adding that the Parliament's environment committee was not expected to debate the issue until January.

Orgalime's fears are shared by other industries, with huge divisions between firms over what final shape the complex proposals should take.

Some groups such as Orgalime want companies to be able to charge consumers a 'visible fee', which would be earmarked for recycling historical waste. Others, such as the information technology industry, argue that any temporary charge for handling existing waste could become a permanent fixture.

They add that the fee would be a nightmare for firms to administer, leading to arbitrary differences in the charges levied for different products, and that it could be anti-competitive.

Michelle O'Neill, EU affairs expert for US computer giant Hewlett Packard - a staunch opponent of the visible fee - said she feared time was running out for companies to weigh in on the issue. But Brown added that she was encouraged by signs that some member states wanted more time to thrash out a deal on a related directive which would prohibit substances such as lead solder.

The debate on the substance ban has been conducted in parallel with that on the broader recycling proposals. But sources say member states cannot agree on how many substances should be exempted from the embargo.

Paris is pushing for a compromise deal on a draft EU law which industry claims could add billions of euro to the cost of recycling electrical products from computers to refrigerators.