Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) - (recast) - Montesquieu Instituut

COUNCIL OFBrussels, 10 May 2010

THE EUROPEAN UNIONPUBLIC

8732/10 ADD 3

LIMITE

Interinstitutional File:

2008/0241 (COD)

ENV 226 MI 107 CODEC 334

DOCUMENT PARTIALLY ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC

ADDENDUM to NOTE

from:

General Secretariat

to: Delegations

No. prev. doc.: 8163/10 ENV 204 MI 92 CODEC 261

No. Cion prop.: 17367/08 ENV 1022 MI 554 CODEC 1863 COM (2008) 810 final

Subject:

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (recast)

Delegations will find annexed updated comments by DELETED on the text set out in 8163/10.

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ANNEX

DELETED

France welcomes the Presidency's will to clarify some of the provisions of the WEEE directive.

DELETED would like to draw the attention of Presidency and Member States on some difficulties

raised by the current drafting of the following articles.

· Article 2 point 1: scope

DELETED supports the proposition of an open scope, whereby all the equipment that fall under the

general definition of "electrical and electronic equipment" are considered as included in the scope.

We think we do not need any category nor a list of examples to define the scope, as it could be interpreted as an exhaustive/minimum list:

Article 2

Scope

• 1. 

  This Directive shall apply to electrical and electronic equipment falling under the categories set out in Annex IA. Annex IB contains an indicative list of equipments which fall under the categories set out

in Annex IA.

We could nevertheless support a compromise proposal maintaining the 5 new broader categories of annex IA. Nevertheless, we are of the opinion that the introduction of sub-categories among the five new categories is confusing, and would like to delete these subcategories. We will be flexible concerning the maintain or the deletion of annex IB (indicative list of equipments):

Article 2

Scope

• 1. 

  This Directive shall apply to electrical and electronic equipment falling under the categories set out in Annex IA. All electrical and electronic equipment shall be categorized under the categories set out in Annex IA. Annex IB contains an indicative list of equipments which fall under the categories set out in Annex IA.
• 4. 

  Large equipment having one or more of the following average sizes: length 1.2 m and/or surface 0.3 m

2 and/or volume 0.2 m3 and/or weight 20 kg (we favour a technical criteria of

size/weight but we are still considering the adequate one) that is: household appliances; IT and telecommunication equipment; consumer equipment, equipment reproducing sound or images, musical equipment; electrical and electronic tools [...]; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices [...]; monitoring and control instruments and automatic dispensers. This category does not include equipment included in categories 1 to 3.

5.

Small equipment, having one or more of the following average sizes: length < 1.2 m and/or surface < 0.3 m

2 and/or volume < 0.2 m3 and/or weight < 20 kg (we favour a technical criteria of

size/weight but we are still considering the adequate one) that is: household appliances; IT and telecommunication equipment; consumer equipment; equipment reproducing sound or images, musical equipment; electrical and electronic tool; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices, monitoring and control instruments and automatic dispensers. This category does not include equipment included in categories 1 to 3.

· Article 2 point 3: exclusions

DELETED would like to make the exclusions as precise as possible, to avoid any interpretation. We

are of the opinion that we should exclude:

(1) Some electrical and electronic equipment, because of particular security considerations: Equipment which is necessary for the protection of the essential interests of the security of Member States, including arms, munitions and war material intended for specifically military purposes ("military equipment")

Equipment designed to be sent into space ("spatial equipment")

(2) Some electrical and electronic equipment, because of other considerations: Filament bulbs (hardly recyclable) Implanted and infected devices (risk of contamination and somehow covered by other directives) Means of transport of goods and persons (partly covered by ELV directive) Large scale fixed industrial installations (in line with the exclusion of "large scale stationary industrial tools"), including large scale stationary industrial tools (already excluded)

(3) Electrical and electronic equipment included in other equipment that don't fall within the scope of the directive:

(b) equipment which is specifically designed as part of another type of equipment that does not fall within the scope of this Directive, can fulfil its function only if it is part of that equipment, and can not be replaced by a standard equipment during the lifespan of that equipment" (universality criteria)

Thus, we would have in the scope of the directive all the "replaceable" equipment included in other types of products out of the scope (ex: a removable car radio, a removable screen in a plane, a removable computer in a large scale stationary industrial tool), but not the equipment which are really part of these other products and will finish their life with them (ex: a non removable car radio, a motor of a furniture, a radar in a boat...).

· Article 3 points a and aa: EEE definition

DELETED proposes a wording for the definition of EEE which permits Member States to keep the

financial and collection systems set up under the current WEEE directive. For instance, DELETED would like to have in the scope of the WEEE directive EEE which have other functions than just electrical ones (like singing teddy bears): placing them in the scope of the WEEE directive could be an important signal to the industry that a producer can't place electrical or electronic parts in each equipment without having then environmental responsibilities. DELETED also would like to keep in the scope of the WEEE directive EEE which use electricity as support to other energy sources (like hybrid equipments): we definitely think that a consumer won't be able to sort out gas cooker from electrical cooker when throwing them on a collection point.

Article 3

Definitions

(a) electrical and electronic equipment' or `EEE' means equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to work properly and equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields, and designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1000 Volt for alternating current and 1500 Volt for direct current.

(aa) "dependent" means that the equipment needs electricity as it primary source to fulfil its basic functions.

(l)`WEEE from private households' means WEEE which comes from private households and from commercial, industrial, institutional and other sources which, because of its nature and quantity, is similar to that from private households. Waste from EEE used by both private and other than private households shall in any case be considered as WEEE from private households.

· Article 3 point ab: "large scale fixed industrial installations" definition

DELETED proposes to define "large scale fixed industrial installations" by using the current

definition in the Commission's FAQ, and completing it as the Presidency did. We suggest to delete the end of the definition, as it is already covered by the exclusion (b) of article 2 para. 3:

"equipment which is specifically designed as part of another type of equipment that does not fall within the scope of this Directive, can fulfil its function only if it is part of that equipment, and can not be replaced by a standard equipment during the lifespan of that equipment".

(ab) "large scale industrial stationary [...] tools" means an assembly of machines, equipment and

components functioning together for a specific application, permanently or semi-permanently

installed by professionals at a given place, and used and maintained by professionals in an

industrial manufacturing facility or research and development facility. It shall [...] not mean

electrical or electronic components which may, during the lifespan of the tool concerned, be replaced

from time to time and which can fulfil their function also not being a part of that equipment;

(ac) "large scale industrial fixed installations" means a particular combination of several types of

apparatus and, where applicable, other devices, which are assembled, installed and intended to be

used permanently in an industrial pre-defined location and each of which are designed for use in an

industrial environment only. It shall [...] not mean electrical and electronic components which may,

during the lifespan of the installation concerned, be replaced from time to time and which can fulfil

their function also not being a part of that equipment;

· Article 3 point j: producer definition

Like many Member States, DELETED prefers a pragmatic definition of producer which permits enforcement and control of the regulation, and consequently, the financing of WEEE collection and treatment in each Member State. Thus, DELETED proposes a definition of producer, harmonized among Member States, that refers to those actors who place equipments on the market in a Member State, as adopted in the Batteries directive, with four different cases:

Article 3

Definitions

(j) `producer' means any natural or legal person in a Member State who, irrespective of the selling technique used, including by means of distance communication in accordance with Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts:

(iii) is established in a Member State and imports electrical and electronic equipment from a third country or introduces electrical and electronic equipment from another Member State on a professional basis within the territory of that Member State, or

(iv) is established in a Member State or in a third country and sells electrical and electronic equipment by means of distance communication directly to private households or users other than private households based in another Member State. In this case, Member States shall ensure that the distance seller appoints a legal or natural person established on their territory, as the person who fulfils his obligations of producer on their territory.

DELETED could nevertheless support the following compromise proposal:

(j) `producer' means any natural or legal person in a Member State who, irrespective of the selling technique used, including by means of distance communication in accordance with Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts:

(iii) manufactures electrical and electronic equipment under his own name or trademark, or has electrical and electronic equipment designed or manufactured and markets that electronic equipment under his name or trade mark within the territory of that Member State, or

(iv) resells under his own name or trademark within the territory of that Member State equipment produced by other suppliers, a reseller not being regarded as the `producer' if the brand of the producer appears on the equipment, as provided for in subpoint (i), or

(v) places electrical and electronic equipment on a professional basis onto the market of that Member State.

Producers selling EEE by means of distance communication directly to private households or users other than private households in a Member State where they are not based shall appoint a natural or legal person established in the that Member State where the EEE is sold as the person to fulfil his their obligations as producer in that Member State. This natural or legal person shall be considered his distance seller representative.

Article 4

Product design

Member States shall, without prejudice to the requirements of Community legislation on product design including directive 2005/32/CE on eco-design, encourage measures, in particular financial measures, to promote the design and production of electrical and electronic equipment notably in view of facilitating re-use, dismantling and recovery of WEEE, its components and materials. These measures shall respect the proper functioning of the internal market. In this context, Member States shall take appropriate measures so that producers do not prevent, through specific design features or manufacturing processes, WEEE from being re-used, unless such specific design features or manufacturing processes present overriding advantages, for example, with regard to the protection of the environment and/or safety requirements.

Article 14

Information for users

• 1. 

  Member States shall ensure that producers are allowed to show purchasers, at the time of sale of new products, the costs of collection, treatment and disposal in an environmentally sound way. The costs mentioned shall not exceed the actual costs incurred, and shall reflect the environmental impacts of the end of life of the equipment, as regards their re-use, dismantling, recyclability and recovery. This information to purchasers does not consist in a possibility for producers to pass systematically and entirely the cost on in the selling price to purchasers.

· Articles 5, 6, 7 and 12: collection targets, collection systems and collection financing

DELETED would like to find solutions to achieve higher collection targets, and to reduce the

leakages in the collection and recovery chain of WEEE. These solutions should be flexible enough to permit each Member State to adapt them to its national particularities. Thus, we propose three

measures:

• - 

  Concerning the collection targets: we could accept a compromise proposal consisting in

fixing two collection targets, the first one of 50% in 2016 and the second one of 65% in 2020, as long as producers are kept responsible for the achievement of these targets in the national transpositions.

Article 5

Separate collection

• 2. 

  For WEEE from private households, Member States shall ensure that:

(a) systems are set up allowing final holders and distributors to return such waste at least free of charge. Member States shall ensure the availability and accessibility of the necessary collection facilities, taking into account in particular the population density;

(b) when supplying a new product, distributors shall be responsible for ensuring that such waste can be returned to the distributor at least free of charge on a one-to-one basis as long as the equipment is of equivalent type and has fulfilled the same functions as the supplied equipment. Member States may depart from this provision provided they ensure that returning the WEEE is not thereby made more difficult for the final holder and provided that these systems remain free of charge for the final holder. Member States making use of this provision shall inform the Commission thereof;

(c) without prejudice to the provisions of (a) and (b), producers are allowed to set up and operate individual and/or collective take-back systems for WEEE from private households provided that these are in line with the objectives of this Directive;

(d) having regard to national and Community health and safety standards, WEEE that presents a health and safety risk to personnel because of contamination may be refused for return under (a) and (b). Member States shall make specific arrangements for such WEEE.

Member States may provide for specific arrangements for the return of WEEE as under (a) and (b) if the equipment does not contain the essential components or if the equipment contains waste other than WEEE.

2bis. Member States shall designate the collection operators as referred to in paragraph 2

which are in charge of the collection of WEEE from private households.

1a. To document achievement of the minimum collection rate, Member States shall ensure that information on the WEEE returned to collection facilities the collection operators as referred to in Article 5 paragraph 2(a) and to distributors as referred to in Article 5 paragraph 2(b), as well as separately collected by other operators as referred to in Article 6(1), article 5 paragraph 2 and paragraph 2bis is notified to the Member States.

Article 12

Financing in respect of WEEE from private households

• 1. 

  Member States shall ensure that producers provide at least for the financing of the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE from private households deposited at collection facilities set up under article 5 paragraph 2 and paragraph 2bis.

1a. Member States, where appropriate, may encourage producers to finance also the costs occurring for collection of WEEE from private households on the collection facilities and/or to collection facilities set up under article 5 paragraph 2 and paragraph 2bis.

1b. In case producers also finance the cost occurring for collection of WEEE from private households these costs or part of these costs, Member States shall ensure that the WEEE deposited at collection facilities as referred to in Article 5 paragraph 2(a) and to distributors as referred to in Article 5 paragraph 2(b), as well as separately collected through other operators, article 5 paragraph 2 and paragraph 2bis, are handed over to producers or third parties acting on their behalf, free of charge or, for the purposes of preparing for re-use, to appropriate establishments or undertakings.

· Article 16 : registration, information and reporting

Article 16

Registration, information and reporting

• 1. 

  Member States shall draw up a register of producers, including producers supplying electrical and electronic equipment by means of distance communication in accordance with paragraph 2.

That register shall serve for monitoring compliance, including the financing obligations under Articles 12 and 13 with the requirements of this Directive.

• 5. 

  Member States shall collect information, including substantiated estimates, on an annual basis on the quantities and categories of electrical and electronic equipment placed on their markets, collected through all routes, re-used, recycled and recovered within the Member State, and on separately collected WEEE exported, by weight. For this purpose, Member States shall ensure that the collection operators referred to in article 5 paragraph 2 and paragraph 2bis are taken into account in the producers' register mentioned in point 1.

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