The European Parliament report recommends that WEEEDirective" makes more stringent provisions
The parliamentary report drafted by European Parliament member Karl-Heinz Florenz was released on February 25, 2010, setting forth more stringent regulations for manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment. Several years after the Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) (2002/96/EC) came into effect, the European Commission tightened the requirements of the directive on December 3, 2008. The purpose of the Florenz report is to amend the bill, which will be submitted to the European Parliament for final consideration at the end of this year.
The revised WEEE Directive will apply to all electrical and electronic equipment, except those listed as exempt. The principle of open control scope adopted by the revised Directive is also consistent with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS Directive). Florenz believes that opening up the scope of control will make the directive clearer. However, industry representatives and some legal professionals have criticized that many products in the gray area will cause many problems due to the revised directive, and the identity of many types of products will become more ambiguous.
On the other hand, large fixed industrial installations and solar power components are already regulated by other laws, and a voluntary agreement on collection and recycling drafted by large solar photovoltaic manufacturers will be signed in early 2010. In addition, solar power components are very important for achieving carbon dioxide reduction. Emissions play an important role, and adding additional costs to manufacturers will hinder product development. Therefore, the Florentz report urges that these two types of products be excluded from the scope of control.
In addition, the Florentz report recommended reducing the number of product categories from the current 10 categories to 5. The product categories are listed in the annex to the amendment to the directive. The five categories of products include refrigeration appliances and radiators, screens and monitors, lighting, other large appliances and other small appliances. Florenz said that reducing product categories from 10 to 5 categories can avoid unnecessary red tape and is also in line with the goals of reuse and recycling and environmental protection principles in the amendment to the directive.
In terms of recycling rate, the European Commission originally recommended that based on the total weight of electrical and electronic equipment waste in EU member states in a given year, manufacturers must achieve a recycling rate of at least 65% from 2016. Although the Florenz report maintains this recycling target, it also requires member states to ensure that the annual recycling rate reaches at least 45% from 2013 to 2015. In addition, the report requires member states to take on the responsibility of recycling household electrical and electronic equipment waste on behalf of manufacturers, in order to increase recycling rates and enhance the effectiveness of the directive.
The above-mentioned European Parliament report also takes into account the transportation of electronic waste, requiring scrap exporters to provide conclusive evidence to prove that the goods being hauled are indeed waste, in order to combat the illegal dumping of waste in other countries.
The European Parliament's environment committee will discuss the Florenz report, after which committee members are likely to vote in May this year. The European Parliament is expected to hold a plenary vote on the report in June. If member states accept the Florenz Report, the revised WEEE Directive will be published before the end of 2010, and the main provisions will be implemented throughout the EU 18 months later.
The European Parliament report and the original motion proposed by the European Commission on December 3, 2008 can be downloaded from the following website:http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id=5723502
– Reference source: HKTDC 2010-04-02
