Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)[de] 

Electrical and electronic equipment constitute one of the fastest growing waste streams in the EU. It is estimated that the rate of growth of this type of waste is three times that of the rate of growth of municipal waste. Furthermore, this kind of equipment contains quite a substantial amount of toxic products. There is a danger of these toxic chemicals leaking into the soil when PCs and other electronic equipment are dumped into landfills.

The WEEE and ROHS Directives aim to limit the amount of waste going to final disposal and provide an incentive for producers to design more environmentally-friendly electrical and electronic equipment through producer responsibility. 

They were due to be transposed into national law by August 2004 but practical difficulties led some countries, including the UK, to postpone implementation into national law. One year after adoption, EU ministers extended deadlines for implementation for EU-10 countries by two years.

The main points of the new legislation are: 

• Collection and recovery of waste equipment: Member states have until 2005 to introduce take-back systems and collection facilities for all electrical and electronic equipment. Electrical and electronic equipment must not end up in unsorted municipal waste but must be collected separately. A binding collection rate of 4 kg per inhabitant a year by the end of 2006 at the latest must be achieved; 
• Producer responsibility: Producers will bear the costs involved in collection, recovery and disposal - at least from the collection facilities - for the waste arising from their new products. They will have the choice of either managing the waste on an individual basis or participating in collective schemes; 
• Historical waste (put on the market before the directive comes into force): this waste will be treated through collective financing; producers can recover the costs through a "visible fee" sales tax on new products for eight years (ten years for larger products); 
• Labelling of equipment  : Producers of electrical and electronic equipment are required to label their products clearly to allow easier identification and dating and to inform consumers that all waste equipment is to be collected separately. 
• Product design: The WEEE directive provides that dismantling and recovery should be facilitated at the production stage. Technical design features that prevent equipment from being reused are to be avoided. 
• Limit values for hazardous substances: Four heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium) and the brominated flame retardants PBB and PBDE were due to be banned from 1 July 2006. But this measure was deemed inapplicable by the Commission who took a decision to tolerate some minimum concentration values in August 2005 (0.1% by weight for mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBB and PBDE and 0.01% by weight for cadmium).

The tight deadline for implementation of WEEE alarmed business organisations, leading to delays in transposition in some countries. Commenting on a UK government decision to postpone the implementation of WEEE, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said: "This sorry saga is, regrettably, yet another example of hurried, last minute implementation of major European environmental directives." 

"The time gained must now be used to get proper clarity in the regulations, and to ensure that all parties - manufacturers, retailers, the Environment Agency and local authorities - have sufficient notice of them to prepare," said John Cridland, CBI Deputy Director-General. "Business and the environment deserve better," he added.

Much, although not all, of the European electrical industry has been highly critical of the directive. Criticisms have included unrealistic recycling targets, an unfair retroactive element, punitive financial costs due to the take-back schemes and investments in technology, and the questionable need to include a heavy metal ban in a waste directive. 

CECED, which represents the European industry of household appliances, urges prudent implementation of 'electro-scrap' rules. It underlines the huge responsibility that the legislation imposes on producers. The domestic appliance industry will be the most affected by the new rules as it represents about half of all electrical and electronic equipment in use today and set to be the waste of tomorrow. The added costs will result in higher prices for consumers. However, manufacturers unanimously recognise that the final package has struck a balance between promoting better environmental protection and putting in place workable mechanisms for dealing with the waste problem. 

The US electronics industry has also voiced criticisms of the WEEE Directive. They question whether any valid environmental analysis underpins the directive and argue that the replacement of heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium (now part of RoHS) could force manufacturers to adopt substitutes that have a worse environmental impact. In addition, the American Electronics Association's (AEA) claims that it is unfair on US companies, as well as against WTO rules, and could therefore lead to further US-EU trade disputes. 

The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) expressed its satisfaction that producers now can be held responsible on an individual basis. EEB's Secretary General John Hontelez said: "Making companies consider the end of life implications of the design of their products at the time they place the products on the market in the future is a strong driver for eco-design in electrical and electronic equipment. Now we call on the member states to take full advantage of this opportunity to work towards the long-term goal of prevention of waste from EEE." EEB was disappointed with the reduction of the collection targets.