Press Release
EEB welcomes MEP’s e-waste report
PRESS RELEASE
[Brussels, 18 February 2010] - The European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Europe’s largest federation of environmental citizens’ organisations, welcomes a report released yesterday evening [1] by the rapporteur for the European Parliament’s Environment Committee Karl Heinz Florenz on electronic waste (e-waste).
The EEB has long pressed for the EU to seize opportunities for improving the management of e-waste in the revision of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) and is pleased to see that MEP Florenz’s report is recommending significant, positive amendments. This could be the first step towards ensuring that the millions of tonnes of electronic equipment produced in Europe each year are reused, recycled and treated in a more sustainable way.
Recommendation highlights in the report include an ‘open scope’ for WEEE which potentially enables authorities to target all WEEE categories and it advises that the current ambition levels set for collection rates should be maintained.
The report also recommends setting European standards for collection, recycling and treatment for WEEE management. In addition, the report proposes more stringent conditions to authorise shipments outside Europe.
Stéphane Arditi, EEB Product and Waste Policy Officer, said: “We are pleased to see Mr Florenz’s recommendations for a stronger WEEE Directive and we see this as a great stepping stone towards an even better law. It’s now up to the rest of Parliament and Member States to take these proposals and turn them into reality.”
To help strengthen these recommendations, the EEB recommends:
- Specific targets for small appliances which still often end up in the waste bin.
- Clear responsibility for distributors and dedicated financial resources for municipalities for public communication.
- Reporting required on input and output by all WEEE facilities at Member State level, to keep better track of what is in the system.
- Stronger links between collection, recycling and treatment standards and financial guarantees set by producers, when placing a product on a market to cover the future end of life costs, should be required by law and used as references for inspection.
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Contact:
Stéphane Arditi, EEB Policy Officer for Product and Waste, +3222891097, Stephane.arditi@eeb.org
Simon Nazer, EEB Press Officer, +3222891309, press@eeb.org
Notes for editors:
[1] English version released today: Europarl website
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