Managing Electronic Waste in the European Community's Member States: The Proposed EC Directive and National Take Back Schemes

Abstract

In the Summer of 2000, following nearly a decade of discussions and more than three years of haggling over legal texts, the European Commission formally proposed legislation on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). This legislation would make producers responsible for the take-back, recovery, and treatment of virtually all end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment. This article reviews the Commission's WEEE proposal, and national take-back schemes of the EC member states. It highlights similarities and differences between EC and national provisions. In light of this analysis, it discusses the WEEE directive's legal basis and its environmental protection and harmonisation objectives. The author concludes that the proposed WEEE directive would likely achieve neither its environmental protection nor its harmonisation objective.