WRITTEN QUESTION P-0744/03

by Nelly Maes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(5 March 2003)

Subject: Financing of the treatment of waste electronic and electrical equipment

Article 8(2) of Directive 2002/96/EC(1) of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) lays down that each producer shall be responsible for financing the operations relating to the waste from his own products. Furthermore, Article 9 lays down that Member States shall ensure that, by 13 August 2005, the financing of the costs for the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE is to be provided for by producers. For WEEE from products put on the market before 13 August 2005 (historical waste), the financing of the costs shall be provided for by the producers. Member States may, as an alternative, provide that users other than private households also be made, partly or totally, responsible for this financing.

In other words, the Directive referred to above lays down that the producers are responsible for financing the collection and disposal of such waste. Recently, various Environmental Policy Agreements (EPA) have been included by the Flemish Ministry for the Human Environment in a Flemish Government Bill. With regard to this Directive, this concerned the implementation of the obligation to accept waste set out in the Flemish Regulation on the Prevention and Management of Waste relating respectively to waste lead starter batteries and waste batteries.

Article 5(2) of the EPA on waste lead starter batteries lays down that only the direct costs relating to collection with a view to the subsequent treatment of waste lead starter batteries should be borne by the management body. Similarly, with respect to waste batteries, the indirect costs are transferred to the local authorities. What this means in practice is that the local authorities have to bear the indirect costs. Accordingly, and despite the European Union Directive, the consumer/citizen in Flanders actually has to pay for the treatment of such waste electrical and electronic equipment.

Does the Commission take the view that these EPAs are not in conformity with relevant European legislation?

If so, what measures will the Commission take as a consequence thereof?

If not, how does the Commission justify a situation where the treatment costs are being borne by the citizen?

What is the Commission's view of the shifting onto the citizen of the indirect costs relating to other non-electronic products, such as waste tapes, in respect of which the same principle applies?

(1) OJ L 37, 13.2.2003, p. 24.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(4 April 2003)

Directive 2002/96/EC of the Parliament and of the Council on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) implements the principle of producer responsibility, as producers have to finance the treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment from private households. This responsibility starts from the designated collection point onwards. Producers can meet their obligations individually or by leaving the actual work to third parties and this could be by a local authority, which they would pay for. Batteries have to be removed from separately collected WEEE(1), and the financing for this treatment is to be provided by producers.

The Directive entered into force on 13 February 2003. The deadline for the transposition of the Directive by Member States is 13 August 2004. The finance obligations for household WEEE (Article 8) and non-household WEEE (Article 9) provided for by the Directive enter into force on 13 August 2005.

In Flanders, the Flemish Reglementation on waste prevention and management (Vlarea) implements the producer responsibility principle by requiring producers to take back electrical and electronic waste free of charge. The purpose of the take back principle is to make producers financially responsible for the collection and treatment of waste.

The Environmental Policy Agreement (EPA or in Flemish: Milieubeleidsovereenkomst (MBO)) of 26 January 2001 on the implementation of the Vlarea-take back obligation of electrical and electronic waste establishes a financing system for the collection and treatment of electrical and electronic waste. According to Article 7 of this EPA, the producers and importers should establish management committees (beheersorganismen) which are responsible for the collection and treatment of electrical and electronic waste. Article 5 (4) of this EPA stipulates that at a certain point in the collection system, the management committees should collect the electrical and electronic waste free of charge. Therefore, it seems that in line with the Directive the consumers can take back the electrical and electronic waste free of charge.

Rules on the financing of the collection and treatment of waste batteries for the Flemish Region are laid down in an Environmental Policy Agreement on batteries and a recent Environmental Policy Agreement on waste lead starter batteries. Council Directive 91/157/EEC of 18 March 1991 on batteries and accumulators on certain dangerous substances(2) requires Member States to ensure the efficient organisation of separate collection and recovery of spent batteries and accumulators. Since this Directive does not contain any specific rules on who should bear the costs of collection and treatment of waste batteries, Member States are free to establish such rules at national level. The Commission has no indication that the Flemish EPA's on batteries are not in conformity with the relevant Community legislation in the field of batteries.

As regards the waste tyres, the Flemish Environmental Policy Agreement on waste tyres requires producers and importers to establish a management committee responsible for taking preventive measures and for taking measures for the collection and treatment of waste tyres. The management committee is also financially responsible for the collection and treatment of waste tyres, instead of the municipalities. It seems that citizens can take back their waste tyres free of charge at the container parks that accept waste tyres. There is no specific piece of Community legislation establishing rules on who should bear the costs for

the collection and treatment of waste tyres. Therefore, Member States are free to establish such rules at national level. Furthermore, the Commission has no indication that the Flemish EPA on waste tyres is not in conformity with relevant Community legislation, such as Directive 2000/53/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of-life vehicles(3).

(1) Article 6(1) of Directive 2002/96/EC.

(2) OJ L 78, 26.3.1991.

(3) OJ L 269, 21.10.2000.