Brussels, 19/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - On 19 July a new step forward was taken towards recasting Directive 2002/96 on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) such as portable phones and electrical appliances. The EU Council adopted without debate its common position on the proposal, which is illustrative of more effective use of resources as it aims to set more ambitious objectives for the collection and recycling of used electronic devices.
The common position takes up the terms of the agreement reached at the last minute March (see EUROPE 10337). The text provides for the Commission to be able to propose amendments to the scope of the text after an impact analysis. In principle, six years after the entry into force of the recast directive (i.e. 2018 in principle), the future directive will cover all electrical and electronic equipment. Photovoltaic panels will be included and will have to be separately collected. The annual collection objective for each member state (45% of the average weight of electrical and electronic equipment placed on their national markets) will be applied four years after the revised directive takes effect, probably in 2016. Four years later, i.e. in 2020, member states should reach a 65% collection rate but the new member states (Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia) in which consumers use fewer electronic products, will benefit from a certain flexibility. For them, the aim is to reach 40-45% by 2016, then 65% in 2022 at the latest. It is now up to the Parliament to make a second reading. (A.N./transl.jl)