Margarida Vasconcelos: Brussels has set up targets for collecting, recycling and re-using waste

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) aims to reduce the impact of electrical and electronic goods on the environment. It increases re-use and recycling and reduces the amount of WEEE going to landfill. It makes producers responsible for financing the collection, treatment, and recovery of waste electrical equipment, and obliges distributors to allow consumers to return their waste equipment free of charge. This Directive has an impact on producers, distributors and recyclers of electrical and electronic equipment. In 2008, the European Commission has proposed revised laws on recycling and use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

The draft directive puts forward new binding collection targets of electrical and electronic equipment. The European Parliament has voted, at first reading, to tight up the Commission proposal, proposing new targets for collecting, recycling and re-using waste. The behind closed doors trialogue meetings have been fully used so that an agreement could be reached before the European Parliament’s second reading in January. Hence, on 20 December, after several months of negotiations, the MEPs and member states reached a deal on the Commission’s proposal revising the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, which was then endorsed by the European Parliament on 19 January. The Council is expected to formally approve the proposal soon and then the member states will have 18 months to incorporate the new rules into their national legislation.

The Commission proposal has set mandatory collection targets equal to 65% of the average weight of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market over the two previous years in each Member State. The proposed collection rate should be achieved annually, starting in 2016. The majority of the Member states found the Commission proposed target too ambitious and not realistic. It represents a substantial change, as Member States are presently required to collect a minimum of 4kgs, of separately collected WEEE from private households. Under the Council Common Position a 45% target has to be achieved after 4 years from the entry into force of the directive, and a 65% target after 8 years, meaning in 2020. The Council also agreed that Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania may reach a collection rate of 40-45% by 2016 and then by 2022 they must achieve the full collection targets.

However, the MEPs voted for Member States to achieve a collection target of 85% of all electronic waste produced as from 2016. This target was even more ambitious than that proposed by the European Commission. Under the compromise deal, by 2016 member states are required to collect 45% of the average weight of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market over the three previous years in each Member State. Then, by 2019 this collection rate will rise to 65% of EEE placed on the market in the three preceding years . Alternatively member states, by 2019, are required to collect 85% of all electronic waste generated. Ten Member States including Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Slovenia may reach by 2016 a collection rate of 40% of the average weight of EEE placed on the market in the three previous years and then by 2021 they must achieve the final collection rate.

The UK might have difficulties in achieving the separate collection targets proposed for WEEE. In fact, the UK would face annual costs around £37 million, to comply with the proposal.

The Commission’s proposal includes in the recycling and recovery targets of WEES the re-use of whole appliances and weight-base targets to be increased by 5% three years after the entry into force of the directive. The MEPs supported a 50-75% recycling target as well as the 5% re-use goal, suggested by the Commission. The Commission has stressed that priority should be given to the re-use of WEEE and its components but if this is not possible all WEEE collected separately should be sent for recovery.

Under the Directive private households should be able to return WEEE free of charge and producers should finance the collection from collection facilities, and the treatment, recovery and disposal of WEEE. The MEPs believe that consumers should also be able to return very small items to any retailer. The Council has initially rejected such idea. However, under the compromise deal consumers would be allowed to return small items, such as mobile phones, to any retailer, without being required to buy a new product. Manufacturers will be responsible for the recycling of larger items. According to Euractiv, Xavier Durieu, secretary-general of EuroCommerce, said "Obliging retailers who sell phones to take back toasters is unwise. It will create some safety issues (light bulbs containing mercury break when deposited in shops) and could also jeopardise existing systems for the collection of small volume waste". Moreover, the European small businesses association UEAPME believes that such obligation would be “excessive and disproportionate for the vast majority of small electronics retailers.”

Presently, local authorities paid for the collection. According to the Commission, producers should be encouraged by Member States to take full ownership of the WEEE collection particularly by financing the collection of WEEE throughout the whole waste chain, including from private house holds, so that producer financing within the EU is harmonised and to “shift payment for the collection of this waste from general tax payers to the consumers of EEEs in line with the polluter pays principle.” According to Euractiv, EICTA, the voice of EU information and communications technology and consumer electronics industries, is concerned that under the draft proposal producers would have to pay for household collection. According to EICTA this would create disproportionate financial burden on producers of electrical and electronic equipment. EICTA believes that the Commission amending proposal would "massively increase the costs of compliance with no environmental benefit.”

The majority of the member states want to re-introduce the existing meaning of the definition of producer at national level, as the definition of producer, at EU level, proposed by the Commission would create significant difficulties for Member States in the implementation of the Directive, particularly with regard to the financial responsibility of the producer for the management of WEEE and the achievement of the collection and recovery targets. The Commission has also proposed the harmonisation of the registration and reporting obligations for producers between the national producer registers as well as making the national registers interoperable. However, all member states have criticised the inter-operational registers proposed by the Commission who raised a number of practical difficulties. Nevertheless, the European Parliament backed a Commission proposal and voted for the registers to be inter-operational. Member states could not accept the European Parliament’s demand for producers of electronic goods to be able to register at EU level rather than in each member state. But, under the compromise deal, Member states are required to ensure that producers of e-goods established in another Member State are allowed to appoint a representative established on their territory, as the person responsible for fulfilling the obligations of that producer, pursuant to this Directive on its territory.