MEPs want curbs on illegal e-waste shipments

EurActiv - The EU needs to increase checks on electronic waste exports to avoid illegal dumping and stop the shipment of valuable and sometimes rare raw materials outside the bloc, MEPs in the European Parliament's environment committee said, voting to update EU rules on the disposal of waste electronic equipment yesterday (22 June).

The committee adopted, with amendments, a report by German MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz (European People's Party) on a recast of an EU directive on Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) with 54 votes in favour and one against amid three abstentions. A report on the related Directive on the Restriction of the Use of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS), such as lead, mercury and cadmium, which also deals with their substitution, was adopted earlier this month (EurActiv 03/06/10).

The MEPs urged the EU's 27 member states to tackle illegal shipments of e-waste.  Although only reusable electronic goods may be exported, large amounts of waste are exported illegally to developing countries, where inadequate treatment can have serious health and environmental consequences. These exports also lead to losses of valuable secondary raw materials and environmental degradation, MEPs stressed, arguing that increased checks on WEEE exports are needed to enforce the directive. Last week, a European Commission expert group urged the EU to step up the recycling of a number of 'critical' raw materials used in high-tech products, like mobile phones and everyday consumer items (EurActiv 18/06/10).