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The European WEEE Directive
International Seminar on ElectronicWaste
World Bank – infoDev
Eric MUGNIER, Executive director
ERNST & YOUNG
Content
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General presentation
Key principles
National implementations
Strengths and weaknesses
General presentation
The Extended Producer Responsability
► EPR = Producers financially responsible for taking back their own products at end of life and for managing them in accordance with the Directive.
1972 :
OECD’s
Polluter Pay
Principle
1994
EU Directive
on packaging
and
packaging
waste
2000
EU Directive
on End-of-life
vehicles
2006
EU Directive
on batteries
and
accumulators
2002
EU WEEE
Directive
Objectives and regulation framework for WEEE
► Directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE-Directive - EU-Directive
2002/96/EC)
► Principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
► Environmental protection as a legal basis
► National transpositions of the Directive
► Key objectives:► Reduce WEEE disposal to landfill;
► Improve product design;
► Achieve targets for recovery, reuse and recycling;
► Establishment of collection facilities and separate collection systems;
► Implementation and financing by producers of systems for the recovery and treatment of WEEE.
Collection target
per pers./year
Reuse, recycling and
recovery objective
Scope and specifications of the WEEE Directive
► Virtually all electrical and electronic equipment are concerned► From “private households” : used by consumers or intended for professional use
that may end up in the municipal waste stream
► From professionals : all other equipments
► Ten categories of products covered
Key principles
Who is responsible for what ?
► Member States:► Setting up separate collection systems
► Making collection facilities available and accessible
► Achieving separate collection of 4kg/inhabitants
► Ensure that treatment facilities obtain a permit
► Report to the EC
► Producers:► Eco-design products
► Provide reuse and treatment information for each type of new EEE
► Set up and operate individual and/or collective take-back systems
► Provide for the treatment of WEEE
► Meet recovery, reuse and recycling targets
► Provide for the financing of the management of WEEE from private households deposited at collection facilities
► Provide for the financing of the management of WEEE from other sources
► Distributors► Accept used appliances free of charge on a one-to-one basis
Financing
► Producers responsible for the costs of:
► picking up waste electrical and electronic equipment from collection facilities, and
► refurbishing waste products for reuse or for recycling and recovery.
► End users other than households may be made partly or totally responsible for financing the management of historical products (to be decided by Member States).
“Historical” products” put on the market before August 13, 2005
New productsput on the market after August 13, 2005
Costs shared by all producers in existence at the time those costs are incurred.
Producers have “individual responsibility” : they must provide a “guarantee” for each product placed on the market and pay the cost of managing their own productsCan be through programs set up by individual companies or through participation in collective schemes.
Labelling and visible fee
► Every new product sold must bear a label that:
► proves it was put on the market after August 13, 2005,
► mentions that it will be separately collected, and
► indicates the name of the producer according to an EU standard.
► Producers must provide information to consumers on:
► the collection systems available and
► on the environmental and health impacts of hazardous substances contained in waste electrical and electronic products.
► Producers may show a separate “visible fee” for eight years (ten years for large household appliances) on new products.
National implementations
Transposition of the WEEE Directive atnational level
► Responsibility of the Member States to implement policies to ensure compliance with EU Directives.
► Possibility for Member States to leeway in their transposition
► Great differences between the various national legislations
► Two alternative national implementation models in Europe:
► A monopolistic national collective system
► A competitive system with national “clearinghouse” system
Monopolistic vs competitive system
Monopolistic national collective system Competitive clearing house system
?Dominant national system responsible for collection, recycling and financing of WEEE within national boundaries.
General approach in the countries with established WEEE systems.
National framework in which multiple partners (producers, recyclers, and waste organizations) can provide services.
The government ensures that there is a register of producers and defines the allocation mechanisms, reporting and monitoring systems.
+► Simplest and most effective route to
collecting and recycling WEEE
► Easier to achieve economies of scale
► Simple in design
► Avoids a monopolistic situation and subsequently encourages cost reduction
► Enables compliance at least cost
- ► Does not encourage cost reduction
► Additional costs due to managing a national clearing house, separate collection containers, extra logistics etc.
► Different collection systems for different products can cause consumer confusion and detract from efficiency
Major discrepancies among national regulations
► Collection of household WEEE► The split of responsibility for implementing separate collection (in terms of organizing or
financing) varies between countries, from no responsibility of producers (in Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, etc.) to full responsibility (in Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Poland, etc.)
► Take-back and recycling of household WEEE► Most of Member States followed terms of the directive 2002/96/CE as regards the
responsibility of take-back and recycling of household WEEE using the distinction between “historical” and “new” waste
► Denmark, France, UK, Greece and Slovenia have settled a responsibility for the financing according to the market share of the producer disregarding the date of placing on the market of the equipment.
Recycling of professional WEEE► All Member States except Slovakia followed terms of directives as regards to the
responsibility of producers for the recycling of “new” professional WEEE
► For professional “historical” waste, solutions deviate more
► In most of countries producers have the obligation of financing management costs only if the appliance is replaced by a similar new one.
► In Germany, Flanders, France and Latvia, producers do not have any take-back responsibility or financing for the historical WEEE even in case of replacement by a new one. The end-user (the consumer) supports the cost.
► Visible fee► The display of the visible fee is authorised (or “tolerated”) in all Members States except
Cyprus, Spain and France, where it is mandatory.
Strengths and weaknesses of the WEEE Directive
Strenghts and Weaknesses of the WEEE regulation
Weaknesses
► Discrepancies among European regulations
► Lack of enforcement
Strengths
► Achievable targets
► Revision of targets to
► Visible fee
► Choice of compliance either individually or collectively
Proposed revisions for improvement of the WEEE Directive
► Proposed revisions to the WEEE launched in 2008 in order to:
► Simplify definitions to harmonize national legislation
► Increase efficiency and effectiveness of collected WEEE
► Eliminate unnecessary costs
► Reduce administrative burdens
► Increase coherency with newer policies and legislation covering chemicals
► Set minimum inspection requirements for Member States to strengthen the enforcement of the directive and include minimum monitoring requirements for shipping WEEE (exports/imports)
