Electronic Waste

In 2003 the European Union voted the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive), imposing the responsibility for the disposal of such waste on the manufacturers. They are compelled to collect appliances at end of life and reuse the collected waste in an ecological-friendly manner, either by ecological disposal or by reuse/refurbishment of the collected WEEE. As the national transposition of the Directive varies between the Member States, a patchwork of requirements and compliance solutions is emerging across Europe.

A mandate has been assigned to CENELEC in 2003 to prepare European standards regarding the marking of electric and electronic products to facilitate their recycling. The marking is crucial to differentiate products put on the market before or after 13 August 2005, in order to determine the finance regime installed by the directive.

ECOS took part in the CENELEC Task Force CLC/BTTF 116 established to fulfil the requirements of the mandate. ECOS advocated for a rapid completion of the work, whilst remaining within the terms of the mandate and avoiding the introduction of exemptions in the marking of products. This led to a battle around the first proposed standard which was finally refused by the European Commission and withdrawn by CENELEC. ECOS influence has been useful to prevent loopholes.

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