International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

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• 2008: The Waste Management (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
(Amendment) Regulations 2008 were introduced in September 2008, which
amend the Waste Management (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
Regulations 2005.
• 2008: The European Commission proposed amendments to the WEEE and
Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directives in December 2008.
The proposed directives set higher but more flexible targets on the collection
and recycling of electrical and electronic equipment and introduce greater
coherence with other EU legislation. The main change they propose is to
change the collection target from the current 4kg per capita per year to a
variable target that takes into account the economies of individual member
states. The new target is set at 65% of the average weight of products placed
on the market in the two preceding years. Although many Member States have
already reached this target it becomes binding in 2016, thus giving other
Member States time to adjust. Ireland however has already exceeded these
recovery targets, with the exception of the category ‘large household
appliances.’ 406 The amendment also proposes the re-use of whole appliances
as part of the existing re-use/recycling target. This will allow flexibility to
choose the most sustainable treatment option (re-use or recycling) and will
avoid making re-use an unattractive option by needing to meet higher recycling
targets, even when re-use might be more economically and socially valuable.
As about 5% of collected waste electrical and electronic equipment is suitable
for reuse, the overall recovery targets have been increased by 5%. 407
19.3 When was the Policy Introduced?
The WEEE Regulations were introduced in August 2005 and amended in September
2008.
19.4 Key Organisations Involved in Implementation and
Management
As well as consumers, there are a number of organisations involved in the
implementation and management of this Policy. These include:
� Producers:
• Finance the take back of WEEE based on market share;
• Register with the WEEE Register Society;
• Self-comply or join an approved compliance scheme;
• Mark products with crossed-out wheelie bin symbol.
406 EPA, National Waste Report, 2007.
407 Press Release, 3 December 2008, ‘Environment: Commission proposes revised laws on recycling
and use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment’, Europa.
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes