Differences in opinions on EU WEEE and RoHS revisions slow down parliamentary approval
Differences in EU WEEE and RoHS revisions have slowed down parliamentary approval. Nearly a year and a half ago, the European Commission proposed revisions to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS). Parliament members had divergent opinions and the controversy became intense. The date for the European Parliament vote has been repeatedly postponed. One of the major revisions the European Commission intends to make to the WEEE Directive is related to recycling targets. Under the current directive, the recycling target is 4 kilograms per inhabitant per year. In view of the fact that some member states can easily exceed the target, while other member states such as Romania are struggling very hard, the European Commission proposes to take into account the economic conditions of different member states and modify the target to a percentage, that is, the annual recycling rate should reach the level of the previous two years. The average product weight in each member country's market is 65%. This target will not take effect until 2016. Some members of the European Parliament advocate changing the recycling target for 2016 from 65% to 85% for the weight of scrap electrical and electronic products. Members of Parliament also support other core items of the WEEE amendment, including improving the handling standards of end-of-life electrical and electronic products, preventing end-of-life products from being illegally shipped to other countries, including China and India, and simplifying registration regulations for manufacturers and importers. Opinions on the product range are mixed. Influential members of parliament believe that the new directive should cover a wider range of products, but do not advocate a complete liberalization of the product range. As for the revision of the RoHS Directive, some core issues have not yet been resolved, such as whether