Pan-European WEEE recycling scheme

Archiv – The European Recycling Platform (ERP), set up in 2002 by leading European electrical and electronic goods manufacturers Sony, Braun, HP and Electrolux, is analysing the potential benefits of pooling resources to minimise recycling costs resulting from the forthcoming EU Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). The European Recycling Platform (ERP), set up in 2002 by leading European electrical and electronic goods manufacturers Sony, Braun, HP and Electrolux, is analysing the potential benefits of pooling resources to minimise recycling costs resulting from the forthcoming EU Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Under the new legal framework, producers are obliged to contribute or to organise the disposal, recycling or recovery of the goods they market after September 2005. Producers are also obliged to handle the recycling of a proportion of the waste from products sold before September 2005 based on their year-by-year market share.
The ERP’s mission is to ensure cost-effective implementation of the WEEE Directive for the benefit of participating companies and their customers. The four companies involved are currently undertaking business planning to operate a pan-European compliance scheme for the recycling of electrical and electronic equipment. The move follows research and evaluation indicating that they can realise significant savings which will eventually benefit their consumers. During the research phase, a team of recycling experts from the four companies has been in contact with some of Europe’€™s leading recycling firms, and has also undertaken numerous market surveys and extensive benchmarking of existing EU recycling schemes.
’By pooling volumes and procuring recycling services on a European level, we have realised that we have the opportunity to reduce our annual recycling costs by millions of Euros,’€™ observes ERP Chairman Hans Korfmacher of Braun. ‘€˜Naturally, we want to explore this approach further.’€™
The environment will also benefit, it is argued, because the cost savings can be reinvested in improved product design for recycling. The ERP is currently in discussion with a number of other producers of electrical and electronic goods about joining the compliance scheme for recycling. The ERP also continues to co-operate with other companies on the implementation of the WEEE Directive into national law.