The recast of the directive, which was approved by the European Parliament last week (January 19), means that large stores selling electronic items – with a floor space of over 400 square metres – will be obliged to take back small items of WEEE free of charge, regardless of whether a customer makes a purchase or not.
In addition, manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment will continue to contribute financially towards meeting tougher reprocessing targets, although they will benefit from a cut in red tape, with simplified registration and reporting requirements.
The move to force larger retailers to offer drop-off collection points for WEEE has been broadly welcomed by industry, including the British Retail Consortium (BRC) who believes the new measures are a “sensible way forward”.
Under the new directive, more stringent collection targets have been set. From 2016, 45 tonnes of e-waste must be collected for every 100 tonnes of e-goods sold during the previous three years. This will rise to 65 tonnes by 2019 – alternatively, member states can choose to collect 85% of all e-waste generated.
Maxine Perella