WRITTEN QUESTION E-0005/02

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(17 January 2002)

Subject: Interpretation of EC Regulation No 2037/2000 on substances that deplete the ozone layer

With regard to EC Regulation No 2037/2000(1) Substances that deplete the ozone layer, the British Minister for Environment, Michael Meacher MP, stated in the House of Commons on 11 December 2001 that the interpretation of the extraction of chlorofluorocarbons from cooling equipment and foam in refrigerators was queried by the British Government to the Commission before October 2000, and that they did not receive an answer for 18 months, until June 2001, therefore necessary action was not put in place in the UK until this time.

Will the Commission state what, in its view, communication took place with the UK Government regarding this matter from the time of its first drafting to its final approval?

(1) OJ L 244, 29.9.2000, p. 1.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(7 March 2002)

Regulation (EC) No 2037/00 of the Parliament and of the Council of 29 June 2000 on substances that deplete the ozone Layer entered into force on 1 October 2000. Article 16(1) required controlled substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to be recovered for destruction from domestic refrigerators

and freezers from 1 January 2002. As CFCs are very destructive to the ozone layer, and since the foam contains approximately 75 % of the CFCs and the cooling system only 25 %, Article 16(3) required CFCs to be recovered from products such as foam if practicable from 1 October 2000.

The United Kingdom questioned, very soon after the regulation came into force, the practicality of extracting CFCs from foam insulation in refrigeration as the answer influenced the United Kingdom's implementation of this regulation in two key areas. If recovery of CFCs from foam was considered practical, the United Kingdom would be required to not only establish recycling and recovery facilities from 1 January 2002 but also to ban the considerable United Kingdom export trade, from 1 October 2000, of used refrigerators containing CFCs in the foam. Article 11 specifically bans exports from the Community of products containing CFCs as the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty on ozone layer protection, strongly discourages exports that would increase the dependency of developing countries on old technology.

The subject of recovery of CFCs from refrigeration equipment was discussed at the Management Committee Meeting on 4 October 2000, meeting for the first time under Article 18 of the regulation just 4 days after Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 came into force. The Management Committee was chaired by the Commission. The Minutes of the Meeting, approved by all the Member States including the United Kingdom, recorded that the Committee agreed that foam-containing CFC was classified as a product and therefore Article 16(3) was applicable. Article 16(3) calls for recovery of CFC from foam, if practicable. Several Member State representatives stated that recovery from foam had been practicable for many years and cited commercial recycling facilities in operation where the United Kingdom could ship used refrigerators for recycling if necessary.

The Commission held a further meeting with the United Kingdom and other Member States, at the request of a representative of the United Kingdom government, on 24 January 2001 in Brussels to discuss the ban on the export of refrigerators containing CFCs. At this meeting, the United Kingdom continued to question the practicality of recovering CFCs from the foam of used refrigerators, despite continued assurances from other Member States that they had commercial facilities in place. The Commission therefore agreed to undertake a survey of Member States to determine Community commercial, refrigerator recycling activities. The survey results reported to Member State representatives at the next Management Committee Meeting on 13-14 March 2001 confirmed commercial recycling activities for recovery of CFCs from foam and cooling systems were operating in a number of Member States including Italy, Germany, Denmark and Sweden.

The United Kingdom government was therefore first informed on 4 October 2000 that it was practical to recover CFCs from both the cooling system and foam in used refrigerators. The Commission notes that the United Kingdom government has recently put in place procedures to promote compliance with this aspect of the regulation.