EU environment ministers and MEPs are coming under increasing pressure to settle their differences at the next trialogue meeting of the recast Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive. Environmental pressure groups and NGOs are pushing for significant changes to the rules surrounding e-waste treatment, recycle rate calculation and electronic goods exports. Lobbyists are adding pressure to the talks, by pushing for more stringent eco-design requirements that force manufacturers to produce products that are easier to process and recycle. Products that are designed with recycling in mind, cost less to process and campaigners want a fee structure that would reflect this.
There are signs of compromise, member states seem ready to agree on an implementation date that is one year ahead of schedule and to collection targets based on the amount of WEEE generated rather than the amount placed on the market in previous years. The council maintains that producers should be identified at a national level but producers who do not have an EU presence should be defined at EU level.
The trialogue is scheduled for 29/11/2011 and it is hoped a resolution will be found on or shortly after that date.
Source: ENDS Europe
