The UK Government is still consulting on its proposals for implementation.
According to Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström:
"I am disappointed that 24 Member States have missed today's deadline and urge them to speed up the legislative process. We need to act quickly to stop the damage that electric waste is creating."
Each European citizen now produces, on average, 14 kg of waste electrical and electronic equipment per year. At the same time, says the Commission, these products are often made up of hazardous materials such as heavy metals, and a large proportion of the various pollutants found in municipal waste comes from them.
The Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE Directive) therefore sets criteria for the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment. These are to be in place by August 2005, for the original 15 Member States, and by August 2007 for the 10 new Member States.
When these systems are in place, consumers will be able to take these products back to shops and collection points free of charge. Member States will also have to collect at least 4 kg of this waste from households per inhabitant and year. There are also reuse and recycling targets for different products.
The Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS Directive) facilitates the dismantling and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment by restricting the use of hazardous substances used in their manufacture from 1st July 2006.
Both Directives apply to a wide range of products, including IT, telecoms, TV, Video, hi-fi, electrical and electronic tools, toys, sports equipment and medical devices. They will require producers to cover all related costs in connection with the dismantling, reuse and recycling of the products.
Producers have inevitably been concerned about the likely costs they will face, although, according to a recent report on TheRegister.co.uk, this fear may be misplaced.
The news site cites Maxitech.biz, a not-for-profit asset recovery company, which found in a trial that proper recycling could result in firms recovering 5% of their initial costs in buying the equipment in the first place. One in three firms recover more than their initial investment in recycling, according to the report.