WEEE standards approved in Europe

EU – At a recent meeting in Amsterdam, the General Assembly of the WEEE Forum approved its so-called WEEELABEX standards. Covering all 10 categories of waste electrical and electronic equipment, these will directly affect all parties involved in the WEEE chain, from collection through to disposal.

Those systems engaged with the WEEE Forum, which represent approximately two-thirds of officially-reported WEEE collection in Europe, have agreed that they will require the collection sites, logistics facilities and recyclers with whom they have a contractual relationship to implement these standards. ‘The WEEELABEX standards will result in less pollution, higher levels of recovery of secondary raw materials, better occupational health and safety conditions for workers, and a more transparent material flow management,’ comments Andreas Röthlisberger, the WEEE Forum’s President. ‘There is no scope for semi-legal shipments of WEEE.’
Pascal Leroy, Secretary General of the WEEE Forum and WEEELABEX Project Manager, adds: ‘We expect authorities in Europe to acknowledge and provide support to the implementation of the standards. But the standards will probably resonate globally as well. Operators in other parts of the world will likely wish to adhere to the same high-level set of principles.’
At least some of the WEEELABEX requirements are likely to become formal EN standards, thus affecting all operators on the market. This seems to be the ambition of the European Parliament as specified in its amendment 99 to the recast WEEE Directive, which the WEEE Forum fully supports.
In the coming two years, a European scheme will be constructed which harmonises the rules for the verification of conformity with the normative requirements. The scheme is expected to demonstrate how European rules can be enforced in a harmonised manner.
 

More info at the WEEE Forum website