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

80% of WEEE primary processing takes place in Ireland in permitted, and where
appropriate, licensed facilities, with the reminder going to dedicated WEEE treatment
facilities in the UK and mainland Europe. The processing of WEEE in this way means
consumers can be confident their old and broken electrical appliances are managed
by WEEE Ireland in an environmentally responsible way within Ireland. 416 Recycling
WEEE saves energy, reduces raw material use and combats climate change.
19.7 Implementation Costs
The overall cost for compliance with the WEEE Directive is estimated at €500-900
million per year EU-wide. Of this, €300-600 million will be spent on collection and
€200-300 million on recovery, reuse and recycling.
The WEEE Task Force Report on implementation of the WEEE Directive estimated that
the cost of collection and treatment of WEEE would be in the region of €10 to €14m
annually in Ireland. 417
Producers have to fund the recycling of WEEE arising from goods they place on the
market after 13 August 2005, and also share in the cost of recycling WEEE arising
from all goods placed on the market prior to this date. Producers must fund the
management of this ‘historic waste’ on the basis of their current market share. The
WEEE Directive requires that Member States ensure that for a transitional period of
eight years (10 years for large household appliances) producers are allowed to
display the costs associated with the recycling of historic WEEE on the price of new
products.
The Visible Environmental Management Costs (vEMCs) that the producers are able to
apply to new EEE in order to help pay for historic WEEE are based on the costs of
recycling as approved by the WEEE Register Society Limited. These costs fund the two
collective compliance schemes operating in Ireland, WEEE Ireland and the European
Recycling Platform, to enable them to pay for the environmentally sound management
of all household WEEE that is taken back by retailers or deposited by members of the
public at local authority civic amenity sites.
The vEMCs displayed to consumers cannot exceed the actual costs of recycling. The
WEEE Register, the national registration body for producers, has verified and issued a
schedule of vEMCs to be displayed. Example of EMCs which must be displayed for
various products are as follows; large refrigerators and freezers - €30, large
appliances such as washing machines, dryers, stoves and hobs, €5 and large
television sets €8.
416 WEEE Ireland (2007) The National Compliance Scheme for Electrical Recycling Annual Report
2007.
417 The WEEE Task Force Group is comprises representatives of all the key stakeholders. This Task
Force plays a pivotal role in monitoring the continued implementation of the WEEE and RoHS
Directives and in advising the Department and the Minister of further improvements and refinements
to the WEEE regime in Ireland.
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International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes