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European Environment Commissioner
Janez Potocnik has welcomed the overwhelming support given
by the European Parliament to an updated Directive on waste
electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
A vast majority of MEPs
voted
in favour of a deal which reflects a similar level
of ambition to the Commission's original proposal. This means
a major boost to resource efficiency in Europe for the years
to come.
Commissioner Potocnik said - "Today's
decision by the European Parliament is good news for health
of our citizens, Europe's competitiveness and the environment.
In these challenging times of economic change and rising prices
for raw materials, resource efficiency is where environmental
benefits and innovative growth opportunities for European
industry come together.
"The waste
stream with the greatest relevance in this respect is electrical
and electronic waste. Today, the European Parliament has given
a great boost to this policy, raising the binding collection
levels to 85% by 2019. I hope this will encourage some Member
States to be more ambitious and meet the new targets even
sooner than this deadline.
"Proper
treatment of WEEE is important to prevent harm to human health
and the environment and its systematic collection is the precondition
for professional recycling of the valuable raw materials like
gold, silver, copper and rare metals, contained in our used
TVs, laptops and mobile phones."
Currently only one-third of electrical
and electronic waste in the European Union is reported by
EU Member States to be separately collected and appropriately
treated. The existing binding EU collection target is 4kg
of WEEE per capita, representing about 2 million tons
per year, out of around 10 million tonnes of WEEE generated
per year in the EU. By 2020, it is estimated that the volume
of WEEE will increase to 12 million tons. The new target endorsed
by Parliament - an ambitious 85% of WEEE generated - would
ensure that around 10 million tons, or roughly 20kg per
capita, would be separately collected in 2020.
The new WEEE Directive will also
give EU Member States the tools to fight illegal export of
waste more effectively. Illegal shipments of WEEE disguised
as legal shipments of used equipment, in order to circumvent
EU waste treatment rules, are a serious problem in the EU.
The new Directive will force exporters to test and provide
documents on the nature of their shipments when the shipments
run the risk of being waste.
A further improvement is the harmonisation
of national registration and reporting requirements under
the Directive. Member States' registers for producers of electrical
and electronic equipment will now have to be integrated more
closely. In collaboration with them, the Commission will adopt
a harmonised format to be used for the supply of information.
Administrative burdens are consequently expected to decrease
by around €66 million per year.
Next steps
The vote means that the Co-legislators agree on a common text.
This will need to be formally adopted by the Council of Ministers
in the coming weeks.
Member States will be required
to collect 45% of electrical and electronic equipment put
on their markets by 2016 and then achieve 65% by 2019 - or
may opt alternatively for a target of 85% of waste generated.
Some Member States will be able to derogate from these targets
where justified by lack of necessary infrastructure or low
levels of EEE consumption.
Background
The existing WEEE Directive (Directive
2002/96/EC )
has been in force since February 2003. The legislation provides
for the creation of collection schemes where consumers return
their used e-waste free of charge. The purpose is to prevent
harm to human health and the environment from hazardous substances
contained in WEEE and to increase the recycling and/or re-use
of such products.
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