Wallström to water down planned new rules on recycling

Date: 18/11/1999

By Peter Chapman

Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström is set to offer key concessions in a bid to win over critics of proposed new rules which would force manufacturers to collect and recycle old electrical equipment.

The proposals - a legacy of Ritt Bjerregard's stint at the helm of EU environment policy - have been pilloried both by industry and by officials in other European Commission departments.

The planned legislation would create an EU-wide framework for the collection and recycling of electrical and electronic products ranging from refrigerators to mobile phones, including equipment already on the market. It also includes controversial proposals to ban the use of lead, calling on firms to find alternatives to the substance used to solder components together.

Critics claim that in their present form, the proposals would place an onerous burden on companies and put the Union in potential breach of World Trade Organisation rules. But sources say Wallström may now be ready to give firms longer to meet the recycling requirements for 'waste products' already on the market.

This follows meetings with Swedish white goods giant Electrolux at which the firm sought to convince the Commissioner to amend Bjerregard's original proposals on 'historical waste'.

Electrolux EU affairs manager Viktor Sundberg claimed that obliging companies to collect and recycle equipment which had been sold before the legislation was adopted would deflect firms from their efforts to develop competitive 'eco-friendly' product lines which are easier and cheaper to recycle.

He said companies would need time to "build up funds" to meet their obligations to recycle new equipment once it was scrapped, initially by charging extra for their existing products. If they had to do this for old products as well, they would be faced with a "double recycling fee". This, he said, would be bad for firms and for consumers, as companies would have to pass the extra costs on to customers.

Many firms argue that the Commission should deal with 'historical' waste separately - or at least follow the precedent set by the Union's end-of-life vehicles directive, which gives car firms an extra five years to meet their obligations to recycle old vehicles.

EU sources this week indicated that the Swedish Commissioner was ready to sugar the pill for industry after listening to their complaints. "There is scope for compromise," said one, adding: "We have to propose something that will work. Industry sees the benefits of this directive, but what is bothering it is the past. We understand that."

One solution could be for the Commission to propose a delay before firms are obliged to recycle old equipment once the directive enters into force, although officials say the jury is still out on how long this 'grace period' could be. They add that Electrolux has called for a delay of seven years, but has indicated that it would accept four to five years.

However, Wallström's aides say the Commissioner will resist pressure from industry to abandon separate plans to ban the use of cadmium in rechargeable batteries by 2008 - the other key plank of the Commission's legislative agenda for the electrical and electronics industry.

Industry claims that such a ban is unnecessary as firms are already setting up collection and recycling schemes to tackle the problem. Companies such as power tools manufacturer Black and Decker also insist that the move would reduce the performance of equipment such as power tools and force firms to spend millions of euro on redesigning their products. They also claim it would breach WTO rules by imposing an unfair restriction on imported batteries.

However, Commission sources say Wallström will continue to press for a ban when the issue is discussed by top officials later this year. If she can convince colleagues within the Commission to support both sets of proposals, they could be formally launched by the institution early in the new year. The debate will then move to the Council of Ministers and European Parliament, with agreement on the proposals unlikely until 2002.

Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström is set to offer key concessions in a bid to win over critics of proposed new rules which would force manufacturers to collect and recycle old electrical equipment.