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

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� Avoidance of ozone-layer depleting substances. The net environmental gain
from diverting products from disposal is consequently greatest for the
Category 1B (cooling and freezing appliances) and lowest for Category 7 (toys
etc);
� Improvement in the environmental performance of products throughout their
lifetime e.g. by making them more energy efficient or removing the stand-by
mode.
However in reality, it appears that the requirements listed in the WEEE Directive (see
Section 20.1) focus on weight-based targets for recycling and re-use rather than on
prevention; thus recycling has formed a significant driver for the national policies. The
ability to take part in collective systems with financial responsibility based on market
share rather than individual products has also contributed to the reduced incentive
for producers to design their individual products with waste minimisation as a priority.
Only the RoHS has readily provided for a reduction in the leakage of potentially
hazardous materials from WEEE.
Measurement of the effectiveness of WEEE policies as drivers for the prevention of
this waste stream are difficult, given that the only key reporting requirement to date
with such policies has been the amount of WEEE that is collected for re-use, recycling
or safe disposal. According to Arcadis (2008), there are limited conclusions to draw
on the impact of the WEEE Directive on the share of company resources allocated to
R&D within the EU. Direct consultations with industry stakeholders have suggested
that the Directive has had limited influence over decisions to allocate resources to
R&D in order to meet WEEE requirements. The significant number of drivers for ecodesign
further complicates R&D decision-making. 445 In Japan, advances such as the
automated disassembly using smart materials (ADSM) indicate that this policy system
may be providing more incentives for design change and waste prevention, with the
EEE manufacturers closely linked to the recycling installations. 446
Rather than encouraging waste prevention, the WEEE policies in place appear to be
more effective in terms of the recycling and correct disposal of products at the end of
their life, leading to a reduced burden on primary material stores and, in combination
with RoHS, easier ability to recycle products and a reduction in the leakage of
hazardous and polluting substances during the disposal of WEEE. It should be noted
that WEEE is not a homogenous waste stream; its heterogeneity adds to the
complexity of recovery, but also provides a number of materials that can be re-used,
including metals, plastics and glass.
The EU WEEE Directive currently sets a minimum collection target of 4 kg per annum
per inhabitant.
445 OECD (2006) EPR Policies and Product Design: Economic Theory and Selected Case Studies,
Working Group on Waste Prevention and Recycling, Environment Policy Committee.
446 Arcadis (2008) Study on RoHS and WEEE Directives, European Commission DG Enterprise and
Industry, March 2008.
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