European UnionWEEEElectronic waste recycling issues
It has been 4 years since the EU WEEE Directive took effect. A study conducted by the European Recycling Platform (ERP) found that there are many amendments to improve the WEEE Directive.
This research report also points out that even though the EU has adequate capabilities to process and manage e-waste, a large amount of e-waste is still secretly transported to countries outside the EU.
Since 2005, the e-waste collected in Ireland has accumulated to 138,000 tons, and in 2008, the collection rate per resident in Ireland was 9.1 kilograms, far exceeding the 4 kilograms required by the WEEE Directive. In Ireland, 100% of e-waste goes to Collection and Recycling Organizations and is disposed of in full compliance with the Directive. But not all EU member states are in the same situation as Ireland.
The European Recycling Platform also found that electronic waste collected in the EU is all disposed of in an environmentally friendly and good manner. It was found that only the 30% worthless electronic waste was sent to collection and recycling organizations, while the 70% valuable electronic waste was sold elsewhere without traceable records.
Manufacturers pay 400-500 million euros a year to support the establishment of collection and recycling organizations, only to recycle e-waste that has no value. As for valuable and easy-to-recycle electronic waste (such as laptops, washing machines, etc.), with an estimated value of about 350 to 600 million euros, they are not managed by recycling organizations, but are regulated by municipalities, retailers, and recycling companies. , scrap metal recycler management.
The European Recycling Platform (ERP) recommends that all companies handling e-waste should apply for registration, the weight of all e-waste processed should be reported to the national e-waste registration system, and the shipment of e-waste to countries outside the EU should be prohibited.
The original link to this article is as follows:
http://www.insideireland.ie/index.cfm/section/news/ext/lauren080/category/1104
– Reference source: Inside Ireland
– Translated by Plastics Industry Technology Development Center
For reference only, please refer to the original text
