Missing the Targets: Revise the WEEE Directive to match market realities

European Commission recently launched formal infringement procedures against all 27 member states for failing to meet waste collection and recycling targets as mandated by EU law. This legal action highlights the challenges faced by the European Union in achieving its ambitious environmental goals. APPLiA, representing the home appliance industry, believes that this juncture again highlights the need to revise the current Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive to close the gaps and further improve the WEEE collected, properly treated, and recycled across the EU.

The context

Targets, defined in the EU’s Waste Framework Directive, required countries to prepare at least 50 percent of their municipal waste for reuse or recycling including paper, plastic metal, and glass, by 2020, and to recycle at least 55 percent of all packaging distributed and thrown out within the European market by 2008. Additionally, the majority of countries also failed to separately collect and treat at least 65 percent of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market over three years, as required by EU rules on electronic waste in the WEEE Directive.

“The inadequacy in meeting the targets by all Member states, highlighted by these infringement procedures, demonstrates a need for reform within the WEEE legislation,” says APPLiA Director General, Paolo Falcioni “It is time to rethink our approach to waste management and set ambitious yet attainable goals.”

Identifying the gaps

The obligation to separately collect WEEE needs to be implemented by all actors handling WEEE. Even after 20 years of experience, several collectors still fail to comply with the requirement to separately collect WEEE, often mixing it with other waste fractions like scrap metal, construction waste, or demolition waste. This leads to improper treatment of the WEEE and thus to an increased environmental impact, loss of valuable resources, and missed opportunities for reuse.