Eurometaux welcomes the ambitious agreement reached by trialogue negotiations on the recast of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, which recognises the importance of WEEE as a secondary resource for critical raw materials, and which has been confirmed on the Parliamentary side by the EP Plenary vote on 19 January.

Eurometaux welcomes the EP’s recognition of the importance of WEEE as a secondary resource shown by:

 The strong incentives for Member States to ensure a high level of separate collection of WEEE, and the ambitious collection target to be achieved at Member State level that will contribute to increased WEEE recycling in Europe.

 The endorsement of a request to the Commission to develop a harmonised calculation method for the collection target on the basis of the amount of WEEE generated per member state three years after entry into force;

 The introduction of the 6 product category approach, with a dedicated category for small IT and telecommunication equipment, as well as the possibility of setting individual collection rates for this category in future years;

 The recognition that all parties involved in the life cycle of EEE are critical to increasing the collection and recycling of WEEE/used EEE, including the consumers, who need to be better informed about WEEE and used EEE deposit places, and retailers, to increase access to collection points and encourage consumers to return small appliances.

Eurometaux also welcomes the adoption of provisions to ensure that WEEE are treated, recycled and recovered and that used EEE are prepared for re-use in a qualitative and environmentally sound manner, through:

 The endorsement of the requests for the Commission to ask the European standardisation organisations to develop harmonized standards for the treatment, recovery and recycling, of WEEE, and preparation for the re-use of EEE; and

 The increased reporting requirements of input and output data for all actors involved in the collection, treatment and recycling of WEEE, which will contribute to a better understanding of materials flows and the efficiency of the different stages of these processes.

We also strongly support the stricter provisions adopted with the aim of tackling illegal shipments of WEEE on the pretext of being used EEE, such as:

 The request for Member States to focus their inspections on used EEE; and

 The imposition of the burden of proof on parties shipping used EEE, in the form of documentation and specific packaging and stacking requirements.

Eurometaux believes that the above measures will improve the valorisation of the raw materials contained in WEEE, thereby contributing to the efficient and sustainable use of these materials, and also to the EU’s aim to move towards a recycling society.

For further information, please contact:

Eurometaux – European Association of Metals Avenue de Broqueville 12, 1150 Brussels

Mr.Joeri Leenaers, Environmental manager Tel. +32 2 775 63 25

E-mail: leenaers@eurometaux.be Website www.eurometaux.org