Disagreements over revisions to EU WEEE and RoHS have slowed parliamentary approval.
Nearly a year and a half ago, the European Commission proposed amendments to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS). The opinions of parliamentary members were divided and there were many disputes, which led to the repeated postponement of the date for the European Parliament's vote.
The European Commission intends to make major revisions to the WEEE Directive, one of which relates to recycling targets. Under the current directive, the recycling target is 4 kg per resident per year. Given that some member states easily exceed this target while others, such as Romania, struggle, the Commission has proposed revising the target to a percentage, taking into account the different economic situations of member states. This means that the annual recycling rate should reach 65% of the average weight of products placed in a member state's market over the previous two years. This target will not come into effect until 2016.
Some members of the European Parliament advocated raising the 2016 recycling target from 65% to 85% of the weight of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). They also supported other core aspects of the WEEE amendment, including raising standards for WEEE disposal, preventing the illegal export of waste products to other countries, including China and India, and simplifying registration regulations for manufacturers and importers.
Opinions are divided regarding the scope of products. Influential members of parliament believe the new directive should cover a wider range of products, but do not advocate for a complete opening up of the product range.
Regarding the revision of the RoHS Directive, some core issues remain unresolved, such as whether the list of hazardous substances that electrical and electronic products sold in the EU must not contain should be expanded, and the scope of the new directive.
The European Commission proposed a new Annex III in 2008. This annex contains a list of priority substances, with the ultimate goal of including these substances in the new Annex IV as prohibited substances. The substances added to Annex III by the European Commission include hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD), dihexyl phthalate (DEHP), butyl phthalate (BBP), and dibutyl phthalate (DBP).
Some influential members of parliament want to ban brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) three years after the new RoHS directive comes into effect. However, other members of parliament argue that there is currently insufficient evidence to justify banning these substances, and that new bans should not be imposed before an impact assessment (including industry costs) is conducted.
Regarding the scope of the RoHS directive, several members of parliament are still debating whether to maintain the status quo, expand it to include new products, or completely open it up. Some members of parliament are concerned that a complete opening up would create legal ambiguity and increase the cost burden on the industry.
After the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety votes on the report of the special investigator, the amendments to the two directives will be submitted to the full European Parliament for their first reading and vote. Although the European Commission hopes the bills can be passed by the end of this year, given the current progress, the chances are very slim.
– Reference source: Hong Kong Trade Development Council website, 2010-03-11
