EU Waste Rules are in Need of a Radical Rethink

On 25 July 2024, the European Commission called on all Member States to meet waste collection and recycling targets; its letters of formal notice to the Member States underline their legal obligation to properly and fully implement EU environmental law. Whilst the WEEE Forum ¹ acknowledges that much more waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) must be separately collected for responsible management and to recover (critical) materials², we also believe that it highlights the need to thoroughly revise waste legislation.

Background

Under Directive 2012/19/EU on WEEE, the minimum collection rate to be achieved annually by the Member States is set at 65% of the average weight of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market in the three preceding years in the Member State concerned, or alternatively 85% of WEEE generated on the territory of that Member State. The majority of Member States failed to collect sufficient WEEE separately and therefore missed the EU collection target. The Commission says that “Member States should boost their implementation efforts in order to meet the abovementioned obligations”.