Malta, together with all other EU member states except for Greece, has failed to meet the target date of implementation for transposing into its national legislation two EU Directives that tackle environmental problems caused by the growing amount of electric and electronic waste.
The two Directives, Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic equipment as amended by Directive 2003/108/EC, and Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, seek to ensure that old electric and electronic products are not simply thrown away, but are recycled and reused.
These directives should have been enforced into national legislation by the 13th of August 2004. So far only Greece has passed national legislation giving effect to the two Directives.
Currently, most devices end up in municipal waste and are then landfilled or incinerated. Due to their hazardous contents, their landfilling and incineration sets free pollutants that contaminate air, water and soil and can have adverse health effects. The transposition is an important first step in reducing the environmental impacts of products such as TVs and washing machines, mobile phones and air conditioning units.
Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom said: “We are buying and then throwing away more and more electric and electronic products. They pose real problems in the municipal waste stream because they are often made up of hazardous materials. The two new directives will put an end to this — but only once they are transposed into national law. I am disappointed that 24 Member States have missed today’s deadline and urge them to speed up the legislative process. We need to act quickly to stop the damage that electric waste is creating.”
The Directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment applies to the following categories of electrical and electronic equipment: large and small household appliances; IT and telecommunications equipment; consumer equipment; lighting equipment; electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary industrial tools); toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices (with the exception of implanted and infected products); monitoring and control instruments; automatic dispensers. Member States are to encourage the design and production of electrical and electronic equipment, which take into account and facilitate dismantling and recovery, in particular the reuse and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment.
By means of Council Decision 2004/486/EC of 26 April 2004, Malta, together with Cyprus and Poland, was granted an extension of twenty-four months over the 31st December 2006 deadline for the achieving of a rate of separate collection of at least four kilograms on average per inhabitant per year of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) from private households. On the basis of Article 55 of the 2003 Act of Accession, Cyprus, Malta and Poland requested transitional periods by way of temporary derogation from the time-limits laid down in the first subparagraph of Article 5(5) and Article 7(2) of Directive 2002/96/EC. Malta stated as reasons its recycling infrastructure deficit, low quantities of waste electrical and electronic equipment, constraints due to the fact that it is a small and geographically isolated country with a small local market and a high population density with attendant land-use problems, and that it is a net importer of electrical and electronic equipment.
Electric and electronic waste has been growing three times faster than other municipal waste. On average, each European citizen now produces some 14 kg of this waste per year. At the same time, electric and electronic products are often made up of hazardous materials such as heavy metals, and a large proportion of the various pollutants found in municipal waste comes from them.
The two Directives require producers to design and produce electric and electronic products in a way that facilitates their dismantling, reuse and recycling and to cover all related cost, including collection costs.
The Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE Directive) requires EU Member States to set up collection systems for electronic equipment by August 2005 (August 2007 for the new Member States). When these systems are in place, consumers will be able to take these products back to shops and collection points free of charge. Member States will also have to collect at least 4 kg of this waste from households per inhabitant and year. There are also reuse and recycling targets for different products.
The Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) bans certain hazardous substances such as lead and cadmium from electronic equipment from 1 July 2006 onward. Lead has been proven to have effects on cognitive systems, particularly in children. Cadmium affects the functioning of kidneys.
Only Greece has met the deadline for transposing the Directives into their national legislation. Most other Member States are currently adopting legislation. Once the Member States have sent their legislation to the Commission, it will check it for compliance and, if necessary, take further action. The Commission can open infringement procedures against Member States that do not meet transposition deadlines.
The European Parliament and the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission and taking account of technical and economic experience in the Member States, shall establish a new mandatory target by 31 December 2008. This may take the form of a percentage of the quantities of electrical and electronic equipment sold to private households in the preceding years.
From di-ve.com
