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
