The UK Government is still consulting on its proposals for
implementation.
According to Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström:
"I am disappointed that 24 Member States
have missed today's deadline and urge them to speed up the
legislative process. We need to act quickly to stop the damage that
electric waste is creating."
Each European citizen now produces, on average, 14 kg of waste
electrical and electronic equipment per year. At the same time,
says the Commission, these products are often made up of hazardous
materials such as heavy metals, and a large proportion of the
various pollutants found in municipal waste comes from them.
The Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE
Directive) therefore sets criteria for the collection, treatment,
recycling and recovery of waste electrical and electronic
equipment. These are to be in place by August 2005, for the
original 15 Member States, and by August 2007 for the 10 new Member
States.
When these systems are in place, consumers will be able to take
these products back to shops and collection points free of charge.
Member States will also have to collect at least 4 kg of this waste
from households per inhabitant and year. There are also reuse and
recycling targets for different products.
The Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous
Substances (RoHS Directive) facilitates the dismantling and
recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment by
restricting the use of hazardous substances used in their
manufacture from 1st July 2006.
Both Directives apply to a wide range of products, including IT,
telecoms, TV, Video, hi-fi, electrical and electronic tools, toys,
sports equipment and medical devices. They will require producers
to cover all related costs in connection with the dismantling,
reuse and recycling of the products.
Producers have inevitably been concerned about the likely costs
they will face, although, according to a recent report on
TheRegister.co.uk, this fear may be misplaced.
The news site cites Maxitech.biz, a not-for-profit asset
recovery company, which found in a trial that proper recycling
could result in firms recovering 5% of their initial costs in
buying the equipment in the first place. One in three firms recover
more than their initial investment in recycling, according to the
report.
