Statement by Commissioner Potočnik on WEEE

The European Parliament and European Council have reached an agreement in December 2011 regarding the revision of the WEEE Directive (covering the Waste of Electrical & Electronic Equipment). The agreement was approved by the European Parliament on 19 January 2012. Key amendments concern the basis for calculating collection rates.

Currently only one third of electrical and electronic waste in the European Union is reported by EU Member States to be separately collected and appropriately treated. The existing binding EU collection target is 4 kg of WEEE per capita, representing about 2 million tons per year, out of around 10 million tonnes of WEEE generated per year in the EU. By 2020, it is estimated that the volume of WEEE will increase to 12 million tons. The new target endorsed by Parliament, an ambitious 85% of WEEE generated, would ensure that around 10 million tons, or roughly 20kg per capita, would be separately collected in 2020.