MEPs approve Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive, December 2002

The European Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic equipment was finally passed into law on 18 December 2002 after members of the European Parliament gave it their approval following an agreement at the conciliation committee in October 2002.

As of 2005, manufacturers of electrical goods will be responsible for the recycling of old equipment in an effort by the European Union to reduce the volume being dumped in landfill sites. Every year 2000 million tonnes of waste is generated around the EU and whilst electrical and electronic equipment may only account for 4% of this total, analysts have forecast that the amount of waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) being generated could increase by up to 5% a year as the sector is one of the fastest growing in the manufacturing industry. In fact, electronic waste is currently increasing at about three times the growth of average municipal waste. Moreover, much of the electronic equipment waste is hazardous which can lead to environmental problems during the waste management phase if not properly pre-treated. Currently, more than 90% of WEEE is landfilled, incinerated or recovered without any pre-treatment and this causes significant pollution.

In response to the increasing amount of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, the European Commission adopted two proposals on 13 June 2000 aimed at tackling the problem. Negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have centred about who should be held responsible for the problem - whilst the European Parliament has argued that the cost of either recycling or safely disposing of WEEE should fall on each individual producer, the Council has favoured the principle of collective responsibility. The Council' position also tended to be more lenient, suggesting lower collection rate targets of WEEE, a lower recovery rate for large household appliances and excluding small producers from the Directive.

The agreement reached at the Conciliation Committee follows the stricter line taken by the European Parliament in that individual producers will be have to pay for the disposal of electronic equipment. However, the collection rate target was set at the Council's suggested figure of 4kg per capita from private households. The main elements of the new Directive are as follows:

• Mandatory producer responsibility for financing the management of consumer electronic and electrical waste

• The cost of financing 'historical waste' (waste from products put on the market up to thirty months after the directive enters into force) will be shared between producers on the market when the costs arise

• The costs of collection and disposal of future waste 'orphan products' (i.e. products whose manufacturers or importers go bankrupt or are untraceable) will not fall on consumers but will be financed through a set of guarantees such as recycling insurance, a blocked bank account or a contribution to a scheme for financing the management of the waste

• A compulsory household collection target of 4 kg to be introduced by the end of 2006, with a new mandatory target to be established by the end of 2008.

• Member States must take measures to minimise the disposal of electroscrap by consumers as unsorted municipal waste

• Producers will be encouraged to improve design. This clause is aimed at preventing producers from getting round recycling rules (by designing products with 'clever chips' to ensure that they cannot be recycled, e.g. ink cartridges for printers).

• Heavy metals and toxic flame retardants used in the manufacture of appliances will be banned from July 2006.

According to the Financial Times, domestic equipment makers have welcomed MEPs efforts to make the legislation more 'sensible'. CECED, an organisation representing household appliance manufacturers, said that the new Directive found a balance 'between promoting better environmental protection and putting in place workable mechanisms for dealing with the waste problem'. However, manufacturers have also warned that a proportion of the costs of implementing the Directive will inevitably filter down to the consumer.

Links:
European Parliament:
	18.12.02:	Daily notebook: Parliament hails electroscrap laws
	Report on the joint text approved at the conciliation committee on the Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment [A5-0438/2002]
Council of the European Union:
	Parliament - Council conciliation committee: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment [PRES/02/323]
European Commission :
	DG Environment: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment - Index
European Sources Online: Financial Times:
	19.12.02:	Electrical goods industry to face recycling costs
European Sources Online: In Focus
	Commission adopts proposed Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
	European Parliament votes on draft Directives on waste electrical and electronic equipment and hazardous substances, May 2002

Helen Bower
Compiled: Thursday, 19 December 2002

The European Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic equipment was finally passed into law on 18 December 2002 after members of the European Parliament gave it their approval following an agreement at the conciliation committee in October 2002.