New 'placed on the market' targets, soaring costs to producers and accounting for unofficial collection are major issues stakeholders will have to deal when implementing new rules on waste electrical and electronic goods (WEEE), experts have warned.

Some of the challenges arising from the revised WEEE directive, approved by MEPs last week, could be addressed by member states during the transposition process, heard participants at an event held by electronics firm HP on

 Thursday.
Hubert Jadrzyk of PwC told the WEEE Thought Leader Summit in Brussels that a 65% collection target based on EEE placed on the market would be difficult to achieve in Poland. Based on 2010 data, this means 8.3 kilograms per capita would have to be collected, which is higher than the amount of waste generated (5.8kg per capita).
By around 2020, member states will have a choice of two collection targets: 65% of EEE placed on the market or 85% of WEEE generated each year.

Another major problem is that not all WEEE is captured by official collection systems. In Poland, only 29% of waste is collection through these channels, said Jadrzyk. About 16% ends up at scrap collection points, which fall outside their scope.

Several participants stressed the need to account for unofficial WEEE collection if higher targets are to be achieved. But first professionals need reliable data. Knut Sander from the environmental strategies institute Ökopol estimated that, in Germany, 15 million large household appliances are not collected by the Elektro-G system.
Phil Conran of consultancy 360 Environmental warned that costs to producers could greatly increase if the new collection targets are met solely on WEEE collected through compliance schemes. This is particularly true for the UK where producers are currently paying 50% more than the actual cost of recycling, he said.

This is because producers have to pay a charge to get proof that they comply, which in the UK amounted to £50m in 2010 and could rise to £174m with new targets, Mr Conran added. Producers have no control over these costs, said Kirstie McIntyre of HP.

The revised directive, which is due to be endorsed by the Council of Ministers shortly, is likely to enter into force in the summer following its publication in the EU's official journal. Member states will have 18 months to transpose it into national law.