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Draft Directive on mandatory recycling of IT equipment


The European Parliament's Conciliation Committee has published a new draft of the proposed Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). The Directive will introduce mandatory recycling of electrical and electronic equipment throughout the EU.

The proposed law will apply to all IT and telecoms equipment, household appliances, medical, lighting and monitoring equipment, and also to electrical and electronic tools and toys.

Under the Directive, all Member States will be required to set up collection systems for such equipment and achieve a binding target of 4kg per head of population per year. There is no mandatory requirement to separate WEEE from household waste, however Member States are required to adopt "appropriate" measures in order to minimise co-disposal.

The Directive also provides that all costs from the collection points will be covered by manufacturers, who will have to provide financial guarantees at the moment their products are put on the market. Producers, however, will be given the option to either manage the waste on an individual basis or participate in collective schemes.

Finally, the Directive requires that Member States take measures to ensure that producers do not specifically prevent WEEE re-use.

According to the European Commission, electrical and electronic equipment is an important source of hazardous substances, and around 40% of all lead in landfills and 50% of lead in incinerators come from such equipment.

The draft Directive is available at:
www.dti.gov.uk/support/weee_text.pdf

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