WEEE Directive Andrew Barnetson, EPS Packaging Group Environmental Affairs Manager, updates EPS News on the WEEE Directive Many of the customers of the EPS packaging industry are manufacturers of electronics who will be affected by the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, which became European law in February 2003, setting collection, recycling and recovery targets for all types of electrical products. The Directive must be implemented in European Member states by August 2004. Collection, treatment and financing systems for WEEE must be in place by September 2005 and the first collection and treatment targets are to be attained by December 2006. The directive also demands the promotion of collection, take back and recycling schemes for WEEE. Britain already exceeds the 2006 collection target. Some leading manufacturers in the UK are campaigning to minimise the impact of the WEEE Directive During a discussion at a WEEE Directive conference in Birmingham, Dr Kirstie McIntyre, Hewlett Packard's UK WEEE program manager, said: "There is a danger of beating our target and it costing too much. We are looking to Mark Downs and the DTI to help us put some limits on that." But Dr Mark Downs, head of recycling policy at the Department of Trade and Industry, ruled out any constrictions. He said:"There is no question of setting limits. We don't need a massive increase in collection to meet weight targets as the vast majority of the 4kg target is already collected." He added that anything collected over the 4kg target will still have to be treated and recycled according to the directive. HP, Electrolux, Sony and Gillette are working together to tackle the implementation of the WEEE Directive across Europe The European Commission is seeking the revision of article 9 of the Directive, concerning historic and orphan WEEE from non-household sources As it stands, Article 9 makes a producer responsible for all items it has manufactured before August 2005, irrespective of current sales figures. This would mean a company that has had declining sales would have more of a financial burden from historic WEEE than a new or expanding company. Subject to the agreement of the European Parliament and Council of Ministers, the Commission would like to see the article changed so that a company selling electronic equipment to a commercial or industrial enterprise would be liable for the costs of recycling the items being replaced on a like-for-like basis. Commenting on the proposed changes to the Directive, Clare Snow, director of the Industry Council for Electronic Equipment Recycling said:"The existing Article 9 means producers could be liable for any piece of equipment they've ever produced. The revised wording means that producers will be taking back old for new equipment." She added:"The net effect is to limit the liability of producers, so they can correlate roughly what they sell to the amount they will be responsible for.² The changes to Article 9 would also iron out some of the complications surrounding who should bear the responsibility of orphan WEEE — equipment whose producer has gone out of business. In a break from the true 'producer pays' principle, the revised Article 9 would see the responsibility for non-household WEEE put on the market before August 2005 handed to the user.
|
UK Recycling Technology Spreads Across Europe Recycling for Customers and the Local Community World’s First Arcel Recycling Scheme P.S. Global Opinion Survey on EPS
|
||
