EC Life+ committee approves the WEEE Forum's "WEEE label of excellence"- Euroopa Komisjoni Life+ komitee kiidab heaks WEEE Forum'i "EES-jäätmete eeskujuliku märgise"

04.09.2008 – On 28 July 2008, the European Community Life+ committee approved "WEEELABEX", the WEEE Forum's 4-year "WEEE label of excellence" project proposal (2009-2012). The European Parliament is expected to endorse the committee’s decision at its plenary sitting in October 2008. WEEELABEX falls under the “Environmental governance” chapter of the Life+ programme. The total EC financial contribution amounts to €532,300.

WEEELABEX seeks to address a number of concerns and new realities:

Directive 2002/96/EC on WEEE was supposed to harmonise regulatory requirements with respect to the responsibilities for collection, recycling and recovery of e-waste in Europe, but reality is that the requirements laid down in the Directive are interpreted and applied differently across Europe. A patchwork quilt of different treatment requirements makes economies of scale for processing companies and fair competition among companies difficult.
Consumers and electronics producers paying for the management of WEEE have no assurance of the environmental performance of companies involved in collection, pre-treatment (de-pollution), and recovery and recycling.
WEEE collection and recycling has increasingly become a cross border business and is carried out in big, specialised plants.
The recycling technologies undergo a rapid development process and new types of equipment, such as LCD (liquid crystal displays), demand new treatment solutions.
Some e-waste processing companies succeed in gaining a competitive advantage thanks to the application of less environmentally sustainable activities.
WEEELABEX will make environmental performance more transparent and will level the playing field through the creation of one harmonised set of standards. It will create incentives for operators to meet the highest standards, and disincentives for dishonest companies to dodge the system. Operators that have not been awarded a label due to failure to comply with the standards will be subject to easier scrutiny by the authorities. WEEELABEX’ standards, as opposed to the legislative requirement laid down in Annex II of the Directive, allow for a more flexible toolbox; laws and decrees are too inflexible policy instruments to address this constantly changing landscape.
Interested parties will be involved in the project through membership of an Advisory Group. An information session may be scheduled in November 2008.
An FAQ and other background documents will soon be available under http://www.weee-forum.org/index.php?section=services&page=services_harmonisation&subpage=services_harmonisation_weeelabex. For more information and queries, please contact Pascal Leroy, the Secretary General.

Allikas: WEEE-Forum'i kodulehekülg, 10.09.2008 (http://www.weee-forum.org/index.php?section=general&page=news&id=97)