Joint standards for collecting and recycling / dealers to take back micro-devices / European Parliament Environment Committee vote on revision of EU Directive

The Environment Committee of the European Parliament has called for ambitious collection and recycling targets for electrical and electronic waste. Today's vote at second reading forms the basis for final negotiations between the Parliament and the Council on the revised EU Directive. "Collecting and recycling electronic waste is good for the environment and for business. Parliament's ambitious but achievable targets can help recycle precious raw materials, contain illegal shipment to developing countries and dumping at landfill sites", said European Parliament Rapporteur Karl-Heinz Florenz MEP.

MEPs want to change the current collecting target of four kilograms per head into 85 percent of electrical and electronic waste in the market by 2016. "This approach is much more related to practise and forces Member States to a systematic mapping of e-waste. That way, national exemptions will be done away with", said Mr Florenz.

For the first time, collecting and recycling will be subject to joint EU standards. "Up to now, there have been a lot of discretionary powers on the part of the Member States which lead to very different results in practise. In the future, we will see comparable results", said the German MEP.

For the shipment of end-of-use appliances, the burden of proof shall be reversed. Thus, it will no longer be up to customs and excise to check whether devices are still ready to use or not. "A large part of devices has been shipped illegally. This meant losing precious raw materials and at the same time terribly affecting developing countries. This is going to change radically", the European Parliament Rapporteur said.

There will be a single registration for manufacturers (EU passport), especially for online sales. Legal company representatives in the respective country will be considered sufficient, official branches will no longer be required. MEPs are calling for the right for consumers to decommission used micro devices, such as mobile phones, with any dealer who sells products of the same kind.

For further information:

Karl-Heinz FLORENZ MEP, Tel: +32-2-2847320

Thomas Bickl, EPP Group Press and Communications Service, Tel: +32-478-215372

Notes to Editors:

The EPP Group is by far the largest political group in the European Parliament with 264 Members.