WRITTEN QUESTION E-0701/02

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 March 2002)

Subject: Removal of foam from fridges in the UK

On January 1, 2002, EU regulations pertaining to ozone-depleting substances which require that liquid coolant and foam in the walls of old fridges be removed before recycling came into force. This process

requires special equipment, which is not currently available in the U.K., partly, it is argued, because the British government did not wake-up in time to the full implications of the regulations. As a result, an increasing number of fridges are being dumped in both town and countryside by owners who are unable to dispose of them legally.

In defence of the British government, the U.K. Environment Minister wrote an article which appeared in The Guardian newspaper on Monday 18th. February. Part of that article reads as follows:

This regulation has caused problems for us. The original regulation in 1998, which we as ministers discussed and signed up to, did not require removal of foam. However, in 1999 the wording of Article 16 of the regulation was changed, which left some uncertainty about the matter.

Between early 1999 and mid-2001, my officials on nine separate occasions asked the European Commission for formal clarification of the position. Not until June 2001 did the EC formally clarify that the regulation also applies to CFCs in fridge insulating foam.

Does the Commission accept that the regulation which was signed in the Council in 1998 did not require the removal of foam, and that the Commission acted unilaterally in changing the wording and substance of the regulation? If so, what is the legal basis for altering the substance of regulations agreed in Council?

Does the Commission accept that the British government had to write to the Commission on nine separate occasions before it was formally clarified that the regulation also applies to CFCs in fridge-insulating foam, and, if so, will the Commission consider recommending a three-month derogation for the U.K. until the relevant technology becomes widely available in the U.K.?

Could the Commission also indicate if the British government is currently awaiting formal clarification regarding the application of any other environmental regulations?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(22 April 2002)

The Commission would like to refer the Honourable Member to its replies given to a number of written questions on the issue of recovery of controlled substances from domestic refrigerators and freezers under Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the Parliament and of the Council of 29 June 2000 on substances that deplete the ozone layer(1): written questions P-0005/022(2); E-0082/023(3), E-0255/024(4) and P-0595/025(5) by Mr Chris Davies and E-0315/026(6) by Mr Graham Watson. These replies confirm the Honourable Member's statement that on 1 January 2002, Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 required ozone depleting substances (ODS) in the cooling circuit and the foam in the walls of old domestic refrigerators to be removed for destruction.

Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 was signed by the Council and the Parliament on the 29 June 2000 and came into force on the 1 October 2000. The provisions of this Regulation concerning the mandatory recovery of controlled substances from both the coolant circuit and from the insulating foam of domestic refrigerators and freezers for destruction by technologies approved by the Parties, or by any other environmentally acceptable destruction technology, remained unchanged from December 1998 when the Council reached political agreement on a common position. The Commission, therefore, cannot accept the statement of the Honourable Member. It is neither in the competence of the Commission to change unilaterally the common position nor the Regulation nor has it attempted to do so.

The Commission received three letters from the British Government seeking clarification on Article 16 of the above-mentioned Regulation. Each letter raised different issues for clarification including the need to ban the export of refrigerators containing ozone depleting substances (ODS) and the need to recover ODS from domestic refrigerators. The Commission does not accept therefore that there were nine letters from the United Kingdom. The subjects of the

letters were discussed in the Management Committee operating under this Regulation, as this was the appropriate forum for discussion. The mandatory recovery and destruction of controlled substances from both the coolant circuit and from the insulating foam of domestic refrigerators and freezers was also discussed in a separate meeting with the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom was first informed that it was practical to recover chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from both the cooling system and foam in used refrigerators at the first meeting of the Management Committee under the new Regulation on 4 October 2000, just four days after the Regulation came into force.

The Commission has neither the legal competence to give the United Kingdom a unilateral temporary derogation from the provisions under Article 16 of the Regulation on recovery of controlled substances nor does it believe that it is necessary since the United Kingdom is presently fully in compliance with the Regulation. According to information provided to the Commission, the United Kingdom is currently storing domestic refrigerators and freezers until commercial facilities are in place for recovering ODS from such equipment. The Commission understands the first recovery facilities are coming on stream by the middle of 2002.

As regards the application of other environmental legislation, the Commission, in terms of its general duty under Article 211 of the EC Treaty, continually liases with all Member States to ensure full compliance with both new and existing Community legislation.

(1) OJ L 244, 29.9.2000.

(2) OJ C 172 E, 18.7.2002, p. 121.

(3) OJ C 205 E, 29.8.2002, p. 67.

(4) OJ C 172 E, 18.7.2002, p. 168.

(5) OJ C 205 E, 29.8.2002, p. 168.

(6) OJ C 205 E, 29.8.2002, p. 113.