The newly revised Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) will be read for the first time in the European Parliament on 23 November 2010. On 8 September 2010, the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI Committee) published its final report, outlining the changes they believed should be made to the European Commission's proposed amendments to the WEEE Directive. The European Parliament will discuss and vote on the report at its plenary session on 23 November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The key points of the ENVI Committee report are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ENVI Committee hopes the revised directive will cover all categories of electrical and electronic equipment, with the exception of those explicitly excluded. They believe the directive should only exclude large fixed installations, large fixed industrial tools, off-highway mobile machinery intended for professional use only, and photovoltaic modules. Regarding the collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment, the report emphasizes that while all types of waste are recycling targets, Member States should pay particular attention to ensuring that small appliances, including consumer electronics and small IT products, are not missed. These appliances should be recycled separately and not mixed with bulky or unsorted household waste; untreated waste electrical and electronic equipment should not be sent to landfills or incinerators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report states that to maximize the reuse of all electrical appliances, Member States must ensure that recycling programs stipulate the separation of reusable appliances at collection points before transporting end-of-life equipment elsewhere. Regarding recycling targets, the ENVI Committee aims to recover at least 85% of electrical and electronic equipment waste generated in Member States by 2016. The Committee hopes to ensure that Member States recover at least 4 kg of end-of-life equipment per capita by 2012, or the same weight as the equipment recovered by that Member State in 2010, whichever is greater. Member States must also ensure that recycling levels increase annually between 2012 and 2016. Member States can set higher targets, but must report to the European Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To demonstrate compliance with minimum recycling rates, Member States must ensure that their recycling facilities, distribution agencies, manufacturers, or their representatives have access to free access to submit annual data on the handling of end-of-life equipment. The report sets very specific recycling targets, with specific targets for recycling, remanufacturing, and readiness for reuse for various types of equipment. For example, for Category 2 displays, including televisions and digital photo frames, the recycling rate must be 80%, the remanufacturing rate 65%, and the readiness for reuse 5%. For Category 5 small electrical appliances, including cameras and small consumer electronics, the recycling rate must be 75%, the remanufacturing rate 50%, and the readiness for reuse 5%. For Category 6 small information technology and telecommunications equipment, such as personal computers and telephones, the recycling rate must be 85%, the remanufacturing rate 75%, and the readiness for reuse 5%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ENVI Committee also requires the European Commission to ensure that harmonized standards have been established for the recycling, storage, transport, treatment, recycling, repair, and preparation for reuse of end-of-life equipment. If operators can demonstrate compliance with these harmonized standards, the authorities will consider them to be in compliance with the directive. Regarding the illicit export of waste, the report stipulates that for end-of-life equipment exported outside the EU under the Waste Shipment Regulation (1013\/2006), exporters must submit evidence before shipment demonstrating that the waste will be recycled and prepared for reuse under conditions equivalent to those stipulated in the directive. After recycling and preparation for reuse, the authorities must confirm that these conditions have been met. These regulations aim to prevent exporters from falsely claiming that the equipment is still usable and is only being shipped abroad for repair, while in fact it is being illegally dumped as waste in a third country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding the manufacturers' funding responsibilities, the report stipulates that member states, in order to improve the recycling of end-of-life equipment, should raise sufficient funds when selling new equipment, based on the \"polluter pays\" principle (polluters typically include retailers, consumers, and manufacturers, not general taxpayers). This is to cover the costs of recycling end-of-life equipment from households, including the costs of operating recycling facilities and organizing events to raise awareness of waste management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ENVI Committee further believes that, to ensure the smooth operation of the registration, data, and reporting system, the European Commission must adopt a registration and reporting format and specify the reporting frequency. The registration and reporting format must include at least the following information: the quantity, type, brand, product category, and warranty of new equipment placed on the national market. Operators of recycling facilities must report annually to national authorities, allowing them to compare the amount of recycled end-of-life equipment with the amount actually transferred to recycling facilities. This end-of-life equipment should only be transferred to approved processing facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the European Parliament votes to accept the amendments proposed by the ENVI Committee, and the Council of Ministers also agrees, the proposed directives will be adopted. Alternatively, if disagreements remain, the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of Ministers will negotiate a final text, which will then be adopted. The final text is expected to be adopted in the first half of 2011. Afterward, member states will have several months to adopt and implement the provisions of the new directives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The contents of the report published by the ENVI Committee on September 8, 2010 can be viewed through the following link:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
http:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/sides\/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A7-2010-0229&language=EN#title2<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013Source: UNCTAD.org<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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