EU falls short of e-waste targets
23 September 2015
Editor's Choice
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A report detailing the European Union’s (EU) efforts in tackling Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) has shown gross failings in implementation of the WEEE Directive, which was passed into European law in 2003.
A report detailing the European Union’s (EU) efforts in tackling Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) has shown gross failings in implementation of the WEEE Directive, which was passed into European law in 2003.
A two-year study undertaken by the Countering WEEE Illegal Trade (CWIT) project – a collaboration between Interpol and the United Nations University – found that only 35% (3,3 million tons) of all European e-waste discarded in 2012 ended up in the officially reported amounts of collection and recycling systems. The remainder was either exported (1,5 million tons), recycled under non-compliant conditions in Europe (3,15 million tons), scavenged for valuable parts (750 000 tons) or simply thrown in waste bins (750 000 tons). This falls well short of the target of recycling 85% of e-waste by 2016.
1,3 million tons departed the EU in undocumented exports. These shipments are likely to be classified as illegal, where they do not adhere to the guidelines for differentiating used equipment from waste, such as the appropriate packaging of the items. Since the main economic driver behind these shipments is reuse and repair and not the dumping of e-waste, of this volume, an estimated 30% is e-waste. This finding matches extrapolated data from IMPEL (The European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law) on export ban violations, indicating 250 000 tons as a minimum and 700 000 tons as a maximum of illegal e-waste shipments.
Interestingly, some 10 times that amount (4.65 million tons) is wrongfully mismanaged or illegally traded within Europe itself. The widespread scavenging of both products and components, and the theft of valuable components such as circuit boards and precious metals from e-waste, means that there is a serious economic loss of materials and resources directed to compliant e-waste processors in Europe.
To address vulnerabilities, the report sets out a roadmap, with short-, medium-, and long-term recommendations, to achieve more coherent multi-stakeholder cooperation.
For more information visit www.cwitproject.eu
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