WEEE


New WEEE directive: New sector challenges


Studies reveal that a ‘significant’ amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment is not reported. DIGITALEUROPE, a European trade association which represents over 10,000 European companies, looks at how Europe could achieve the new WEEE Directive collection goals. John Higgins reports.


John Higgins CBE Director general, DIGITALEUROPE


T Material Steel Plastics


Aluminium Cooper Zinc


Antimony Nickel Lead Silver Gold


Palladium Total


HE WEEE Directive was first conceived in the late 1990s to tackle one of the fastest growing waste streams in Europe: electrical and electronic equipment. The main vehicle


for achieving the goals of the Directive was the application of the extended producer responsibility principle (EPR). At the onset of the first WEEE Directive, WEEE was considered to be a producer problem and legislation called upon EPR schemes to manage the issue. Producers paid recyclers to treat waste from the products which they had sold. Rather than looking at it as a burden, today


WEEE is seen by many as an opportunity. WEEE contains many high value materials


such as copper, aluminium, steel and some precious metals (see table below). In many countries recyclers will pay collectors to bring WEEE to their gates. WEEE has undergone what we can only call a paradigm shift.


Amount


contained in desktop PC, [g/unit]


6,737.50 1,579.50 550.20 413.20 25.90 18.50 12.70 6.50 1.70 0.30 0.10


9,346


15.5Material value 2007, [US $/unit)


1.7


0.49 1.49 2.99 0.09 0.11 0.47 0.02 0.94 5.82 1.38 15.5


Material content and value of an average desktop PC at 2003 and 2007 resource prices (Source: Oko-Institute e.V, E-waste Africa Project, Methodology and Background of Component 3, Socioeconomic study and feasibility study, 2009)


WEEE is now a resource, albeit it is


necessary to maintain safeguards which ensure that the waste is correctly treated in its entirety. The Restriction of Hazardous Substances


(RoHS) Directive and voluntary measures by producers have also contributed to reducing the volume of hazardous substances contained in modern day electronics and electrical equipment, making it easier to recover valuable materials while still avoiding risks to human health and the environment. The new WEEE Directive creates an


opportunity to improve the performance of collection and treatment in Europe and the reporting of data pursuant to such operations. The Directive lays down new and


ambitious rates for the collection and treatment of WEEE.


4 March 7 2013 By 2019, member states are required to


demonstrate achievement of a minimum collection rate annually of either 65% of equipment sold in the preceding three years, or 85% of WEEE generated. For many member states this is going to be a significant challenge and the big question looming in the mind of producers and member state authorities is: How will we achieve these ambitious collection rates? How close are with achieving them today and what legislative requirements are needed to ensure that we achieve them?


Unreported WEEE Currently in most member states the collection rate, based on official data of WEEE separately collected by systems set up by producers, is on average a third of electronic and electrical equipment sold (see chart below). However, recent research in several member


states has revealed that there are large flows of WEEE beyond the producer take back systems which are also collected and recycled for a profit, but not reported under official WEEE statistics. Research has demonstrated that in addition


to this third managed by producer take-back systems, on average, a further third is also collected and treated by treatment operators. According to a recent United Nations


University report, the Netherlands producer WEEE systems collected 7.5kg per inhabitant in 2011 equating to 28% of previous year’s sales. The report also found that at least 6.6kg per


inhabitant (a further 25%) was collected and treated in parallel to the producer managed systems. These volumes are ultimately not counted towards the Netherlands official collection rate. In Germany, a similar study by Okopol found that 46% of WEEE arising is treated by


100% 90%


80% 70%


60%


40% 50%


30% 20%


10% 0%


29% France 2019 Target 35% UK 38% Germany 2011 Average


Official collection rates for France, UK, Germany, Netherlands and Poland based on output on the market www. r e c y c l i n gwa s t ewo r l d . c o . u k


28% Netherlands 28% Poland 2011 Return rate Recycling & WA S T E W O R L D


the official EAR system; this is complemented by a further 36% being collected and recycled outside of the EAR system by commercial collectors (Okopol, 2011). Similar studies in the UK by WRAP (2011)


and in Italy by the UNU (2012) have arrived at similar conclusions. According to WRAP, in 2010 75% of WEEE


arising was reused or treated. However, only half of the WEEE treated was recorded through the WEEE compliance schemes. These studies reveal that a significant


amount of WEEE is being collected for material recovery, but not reported as official volumes which contribute towards the achievement of member state collection rates.


But there is a solution to this problem In order for member states to demonstrate achievement of the minimum collection rates it will be necessary to collect information of all flows of WEEE, irrespective of whether it was handed over by producer take back systems or by third party collectors. This is not only a requirement laid out in


the new Directive but a necessity for proper management of WEEE flows. With the increasing value of resources and


subsequently WEEE, a growing amount of waste equipment will represent a value and a business opportunity. It is not in producers’ interests to hamper


this development by attempting to recover these products from collectors before they get to it. Rather, it is in producers’ interests for anyone engaged in treating WEEE to do so to a high standard and that all WEEE is properly managed and subsequently reported. Considering that on average two thirds of


WEEE is being treated by recyclers already; implementing measures under WEEE 2 should include mandatory reporting obligations for


all permitted treatment operators. Producers shall continue collecting and managing WEEE which is arising from producer, retailer collection networks and municipal collection points and ensure that this WEEE is fully managed according to legal requirements. However, it is impossible for producers to


control the actions of others. For this reason, member states must also


realise they have an important obligation to set European minimum quality standards and ensure recyclers meet these standards. In this instance all WEEE which is properly treated, regardless of the source or the contracting party, will count towards the achievement of the minimum collection rate and member states will be in a much better position to achieve good environmental quality and the minimum collection rates. Adoption of harmonised European


treatment standards currently being developed by the European standardisation body, CENELEC, will also serve to level the playing field for recyclers ensuring that all operators meet the same requirements. DIGITALEUROPE takes the view that the


boundaries of the official WEEE reporting system need to be expanded so that they also capture flows of WEEE which are not collected by producer systems but still undergo proper treatment. To this end, DIGITALEUROPE together with other trade associations, including the European Electronics Recycler Association (EERA), have agreed on guidance for measuring all flows and establishing WEEE treatment standards. Only through the establishment of


reporting requirements for recyclers, proper treatment standards and enforcement of these requirements will member states be in a position to achieve the new and ambitious objectives of the WEEE recast Directive.


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