EU & Cyprus Legal Framework and Management of WEEE
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Page 1 of 33 EU & Cyprus legal framework and management of WEEE By Marios Demosthenous University of Nicosia, Cyprus On behalf of the educational NGO CARDET November 2016 Edited by Iris Charalambidou University of Nicosia, Cyprus The report was compiled for the purposes of the European project “Time for change: Promoting sustainable consumption and production of raw materials in the context of European Development Year 2015 and beyond!” As WEEE holds vast quantities of raw and rare raw materials, an investigation for the management practices of WEEE in Europe and Cyprus was essential. The strengths and weaknesses of the Industry are identified and recommendations can be made for the sustainability of the EEE and WEEE industry. This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document] are the sole responsibility of CARDET and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. Page 2 of 33 Table of Contents Abbreviations and acronyms………………………………………………………………………..........................4 Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................4 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..........5 Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) ………………………………………………………….6 Legislation on WEEE …………………………………………………………………………….………………………..7 European Union Legislation ……………………………………………………………………………………………......7 Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC)…………………………………………………………………………………......7 Regulation on Shipment of Waste (EU/2016/1245) …………………………………………………………………….....9 RoHS Directive (2011/65/EC)..………………………………………………………………………………………………….......10 WEEE Directive (2012/19/EC).………………………………………………………………………………………………….......10 Overview of scope of WEEE Directive …………………………………………………………………….....................10 Preparation for Re-Use ……………………………………………………………………………………………..................12 Eco-design & interoperability in ……………………………………….……………………………….........................12 Standardisation systems for management of WEEE in Europe ……………………………………..13 Legislation in Cyprus ………………………………………………………………………………………………………....14 Management of WEEE in Cyprus ……………………………………..……………………………16 WEEE Electrocyclosis Cyprus Ltd …………………………………………………………………………………………………….16 Collection, sorting and treatment of WEEE …………………………………………………………………………………….17 Collection volumes of WEEE ……………………………………………………………………………………..…………………...21 Challenges in the management of WEEE ………………………………………………………………………………………..23 Not meeting collection targets ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..23 Limited inspection and enforcement capacities …………………………………………………………………………....27 Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL) …………………………………………...28 Countering WEEE illegal Trade (CWIT) ……………………………………………………………………………………...29 Basel Action Network (BAN) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..29 ..Future recommendations …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….30 Conclusion ……………………………………..…………………………………………………………….31 List of References …………..…………………………………………………………………………….33 This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document] are the sole responsibility of CARDET and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. Page 3 of 33 Tables Table 1: EU and Cypriot legislation concerning electrical and electronic equipment …7 Table 2: The main principles of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) ………...8 Table 3: Directive 2012/19/EC Recovery, Recycling, Re-Use Targets for 2015-2018 (EU- 10) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..11 Table 4: The reduced 6 categories and the targets for recovery re-use and recycling from 2019 (EU-6) ……………………………………………………………………………………….12 Table 5: Total volume of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) collected in the EU in 2013, by EEE category …………………………………………………………….....16 Table 6. The containers used by WEEE Electrocyclosis Cyprus Ltd for the collection of WEEE ………………………………………………………………………………………………………...17 Table 7: Categories of WEEE in relation to their future processing…………………………..19 Table 8: Companies housed at storing and processing facility in Geri, Nicosia ………...20 Table 9: The fate of WEEE collected in Cyprus ………………………………………………………...20 Table 10: Collected volume of WEEE in Cyprus in 2015 ……………………………………………..22 Figures Figure 1: EU Waste Management Pyramid …………………………………………………………….....8 Figure 2: Plastic boxes for WEEE collection ……………………………………………………………...17 Figure 3: Blue Plastic barrel ……………………………………………………………………………………...17 Figure 4: Skip containers hook ………………………………………………………………………………....17 Figure 5: KYKAN transportation Van for WEEE ………………………………………………………....19 Figure 6: Transboundary shipment of waste from Cyprus in 2013 …………………………....21 Figure 7: Incoming WEEE (Data collected from Electrocyclosis, 2016) ……………………...22 Figure 8: POM of EEE in Cyprus for the period 2010-2015 ………………………………………...23 Figure 9: (EEE) place on market and WEEE collected and treated, EU, 2007–13………...24 Figure 10: Total collection rate as a percentage of the average weight of EEE put on the market in the three preceding years 2010–12 …………………………………………….25 Figure 11: Questionnaire on implementation difficulties among member states ………..26 Figure 12: Evaluation of main difficulties by different stakeholders …………………………….26 Figure 13: High rate of selective picking and unaccounted collection ………………………….27 Figure 14: Limited inspection and enforcement capacities ………………………………………….28 This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document] are the sole responsibility of CARDET and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. Page 4 of 33 Abbreviations and acronyms B2B: Business to Business B2C: Business to Consumer CFC/HCFC: Chlorofluorocarbon/ Hydrochlorofluorocarbon CRT: Cathode Ray Tubes EC: European Commission ES: Environmental Services EEE: Electrical and Electronic Equipment* IT: Information Technology LCD: Liquid Crystal Display LED: Light-emitting diode MANRE: Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources MS: Member States OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer P2P: Peer to Peer PCB: Polychlorinated Biphenyl POM: Products placed On the Market PRO: Producer Responsibility Organisation - Distributors RC: Recycling Centres TV: Television WEEE: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment WEEELABEX: WEEE Label of Excellence WG: WEEE Generated WFD: Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) * EEE: “equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly and equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields and designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1000 volts for alternating current and 1500 volts for direct current” Acknowledgments We would like to express our gratitude to all persons providing valuable information and data, comments and feedback for this study. Special thanks go to the team at CARDET, particularly Sotiris Themistokleous for the opportunity to work on this project, and to Theocharis Michail for his valuable suggestions and guidance. Grateful thanks also to Athena Papanastasiou from Department of Environment for providing data and information on the WEEE industry in Cyprus, as well as Irodotos Savva from Electrocyclosis and Giannos Virydes from Cyprus University of Technology. Introduction This report aims to describe the major concerns and situation in Europe and Cyprus with regards to Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the challenges faced in terms of This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document] are the sole responsibility of CARDET and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. Page 5 of 33 implementing a robust legislative framework. The first part of the report focuses on legislation and presents the key points of the important Directives and Regulations designed to tackle the ever increasing flow of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) that are Placed On Market (POM) and end of life equipment. The second part of the report focuses on the network of collection of WEEE in Cyprus and the challenges the industry is facing. Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) WEEE such as computers, TV-sets, refrigerators and cell phones is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the EU, growing at 3-5 % per year (Eurostat, 2016a) with some 9 million tonnes generated in 2005, and expected to grow to more than 12 million tonnes by 2020 (European Commission, 2016a). The forces that drive the volume of material being used in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) are the forces of the technological revolution. Modern society’s hi tech infrastructure and trends are driven by faster and cheaper microchip technology, resulting in an explosion of electronic consumer goods. Although technological innovation is responsible for swift advances in design and production of electronics, it has not yet extended to adequate responsibility for the environmental impacts of products, especially safe and effective end-of-life policies of EEE. The production of EEE is one of the fastest growing industries, leading to an increase in obsolescence and replacement of products thus resulting in an increasing volume of European WEEE every year. Compared to traditional waste streams,