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

In order to facilitate their financial responsibility for WEEE, every producer is required
to be a member of a ‘take-back’ scheme. There are two national collection schemes
in place in Norway: Elretur and Renas are responsible for the education, collection
and processing of household and non-household WEEE respectively. In addition, other
take-back schemes also exist, with all schemes requiring approval from the
Norwegian Pollution Control Authority. Collection systems are via a series of collection
points (including municipal facilities) and via distributor/retailer outlets. Distributors
are obligated to inform customers that they can receive WEEE. Unlike a large number
of EU countries, consumers can return WEEE to distributors without having to
purchase a new product, as long as the distributor sells similar products. This
approach is also in place in Switzerland and on a voluntary basis in Denmark.
According to the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority, Norway was collecting
approximately 28 kg WEEE per inhabitant in 2006, with 85 % of this collected WEEE
subsequently re-used, recycled or used to generate energy. 436 According to the United
Nations University report, this figure is somewhat lower at 13.41 kg per inhabitant per
year. Either way, Norway remains one of the top performing countries discussed in
this report.
20.2.1.5 South Korea
The ‘Act for Resource Recycling of Electrical/Electronic Products and Automobiles’
came into force in South Korea in 2007, building on the previous Extended Producer
Responsibility law of 2003. The aim of this Act was to establish a law to cover the
entire product life cycle of EEE, to promote recycling and to ensure restrictions on the
use of hazardous substance in product design. This Act follows a similar design to
that of the EU, to ensure that manufacturers meet international standards and are
able to continue exporting goods to the EU and elsewhere in the world. Eco-design is
included in its requirements, with implementation geared towards continuous
improvement in product design and recycling technology as and when these become
technically and economically feasible. 437
In Korea, the producers/importers of EEE must designate a collection depot for their
products and inform their distributors of the chosen depot. When customers purchase
new products, distributors are obliged to provide free take-back of old WEEE from the
customer. Distributors can either arrange for the re-use of the WEEE themselves, or
they must transport the collected WEEE to the designated collection depot. Producers
may either take part in a collective scheme e.g. join a Recycling Mutual Aid
Association, or may take individual producer responsibility for their EEE. 438
436 Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (2008) Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, [Accessed
13 th October 2008], Available at http://www.environment.no/Tema/Avfall/Waste-electrical-andelectronic-equipment/
437 J. Yoon (2007) Report on the Analysis of the Act for Resource Recycling of Electrical/Electric
Products and Automobiles (Korea RoHS/ELV), available at http://www.koreahelpdesk.eu/rohs/korea/Ecofrontier_KoreaRoHS.pdf
438 RSJ Consulting (2007) What is Korea “RoHS”?, available at
http://www.rsjtechnical.com/WhatisKoreaRoHS.htm.
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International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes