Electronic Components & information: CLEAN PRODUCTION ACTION

Europe — Electronics

European Union EPR Directives for Electronic Products

Background on Electronic Waste (E-Waste)

E-waste is the most hazardous and fastest growing waste stream in the world. In the EU in 1998, six million tonnes of WEEE were generated (4% of the municipal waste stream). This volume is expected to increase by at least 3–5% a year, and waste from electronic products is growing three times faster than other municipal waste streams. Electronic goods contain a hazardous mix of chemicals such as heavy metals, brominated flame retardants, and phthalates. There is currently very little recycling and recovering of electronic scrap. More than 90% of WEEE is landfilled, incinerated, or recovered without pretreatment, and constitutes a large source of hazardous ingredients in municipal waste.

EU Directives

The EU has adopted two EPR directives: The Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Restriction on Hazardous Substances (ROHS). A key achievement of the legislation was establishing individual responsibility for all products put on the market after 2005. Individual responsibility mandates that producers handle their own waste closing the feedback loop between front-end design decisions and end-of-life problems — thus promoting a greater incentive for greener design. The Directives cover a broad range of electronic products ranging from computers to hair dryers to refrigerators to electronic toys.

Key Components of Europe’s EPR Directives

Financing of electronic waste equipment. Consumers can return e-waste to collection points free of charge. Individual producers bear the costs of organizing disposal, recycling, and reuse of all products they put on the market after 2005. Producers can charge consumers an additional front-end fee that varies depending on the particular product.
Labeling. Producers must clearly label their products to allow for identification and to inform consumers that e-waste is banned from municipal waste and must be handled separately.
Product design. The WEEE Directive mandates that products must be designed for dismantling and recovery. By 2006 industry will have to recycle or reuse more than half of the old equipment on the market. The Directive specifies recycling rates that increase over time.
Ban on Hazardous Substances. The compromise reached provides that the use of substances such as lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, and certain brominated flame retardants (PBBs, Penta-BDE, and Octa-BDE, possible Deca-BDE as well) by July 1, 2006.
Collection and recovery of waste equipment. The member states have until 2005 to introduce take back systems and collection facilities for all electrical and electronic equipment. E-waste will be banned from the municipal waste and must be collected separately. Manufacturers must meet a collection rate of four kilograms per person per year. The WEEE Directive is unclear as to who should pay for collecting the waste from households and delivering it to central collection facilities. There is currently a debate between local authorities, industry, and EU government officials on how to resolve this outstanding issue. Retailers are also concerned that they will likely have to play a role in collection. The Directive now states that customers can return old electronic products to retailers if they are the buying the same type of item.

The European Union Directive will create a uniform EPR system, enabling industry to avoid having to meet different requirements set in member countries (although individual countries under European law can appeal for more stringent requirements). Contrary to the electronic manufacturers in the United States, most major European electronic manufacturers supported the Directives. In fact, European environmental organizations and electronic manufacturers wrote a joint letter to the European Commission in support of the Directives.

Joint press statement in support of EPR from major electronic manufacturers, consumer advocates, and environmental NGOs.

Electrolux’s ad on the benefits of individual responsibility versus collective responsibility.

Some manufacturers have formed the European Recycling Platform to better manage their own electronic product waste. Visit them at www.erp-recycling.org.

For more information on the status of the WEEE Directives, visit the European Environmental Bureau’s Waste From Electronic and Electrical Equipment website.

To learn more about efforts to implement EPR for electronics in the U.S., visit the Computer Take Back Campaign's website.