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Report compiled for the Directorate General (DG XI)

Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection of

the Commission of the European Communities

Contract N° B4-3040/97/000800/MAR/E3


  Collection Targets for

Waste from Electrical and Electronic

Equipment (WEEE)
 

Final Report

May 1998
 

 
 
 

Authors:

Joachim Lohse

Sabine Winteler

Jan Wulf-Schnabel
 
 

Contents
 

1. Objectives of the study
 

2. Legislation in EU Member States and Switzerland

3. The numerator of the WEEE collection ratio 4. The denominator of the WEEE collection ratio 5. Conclusions and recommendations
 

Annex I European National Legislation on WEEE

Annex II Detailed description of collection schemes

Annex III References

[?Contents?]
1. Objectives of the study

In October 1997, the European Commission presented a "Working Paper on the management of Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment" (Draft 09-OCT-1997) which is currently being discussed among Member States and with other involved actors. This document includes some preliminary proposals on how targets for collection rates of WEEE could be set:

- For all Large White Goods, Cables, Medical equipment, Monitoring and control instruments and IT equipments, the collection shall be increased to a minimum of 90 % of the waste generated in this year.

- For all Telecommunication equipments, the collection shall be increased to a minimum of 80 % of the waste generated in this year.

- For all Brown Goods, Small White Goods, Light sources and Toys the collection shall be increased to a minimum of 50 % of the waste generated in this year.
 

 To be able to define and measure such targets of 50, 80 or 90 per cent that shall be achieved as collection rates, the numerator and the denominator of the ratio between collected WEEE and total WEEE must be properly defined.

It is the purpose of this study to examine the feasibility of establishing such collection targets in EU-legislation on Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment, with a focus on the practicability of such collection targets for future enforcement of the take-back legislation.

The study starts with a survey of existing concepts in the EU Member States and Switzerland with regard to the collection of WEEE, in particular qualitative and quantitative objectives for WEEE collection, monitoring and supervision (Section 2). It continues with a systematic evaluation of a number of pilot projects and existing collection schemes for WEEE in Europe, with a focus on the kind of collection systems involved and the quantitative yields of WEEE as the `numerator of the collection ratioA (Section 3). In Section 4, we present and discuss several methods to estimate the potential amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment from households as the `denominator of the collection ratioA. These methods are characterised by their principal approach, the quantitative results derived from these approaches, and a discussion of the uncertainties of these estimates.

Finally, Section 5 offers some conclusions and recommendations about how the collection of WEEE can be measured and monitored in the future in order to evaluate the success of the EU take-back legislation.

[?Contents?]
2. Legislation in EU Member States and Switzerland

EU Member States which are working on specific legislation on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) include Austria, Flandria (Belgium), Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Ökopol has contacted the responsible persons in the environmental ministries of the above-mentioned countries and asked for sending a copy of their regulations or draft regulation. After evaluating these documents, Ökopol had a second contact with the responsible persons in the ministries for a more detailed discussion.

For this report, we have evaluated draft legislation on WEEE or subgroups of WEEE from the EU Member States of Austria, Denmark, Flandria (Belgium), Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands as well as the take-back ordinance of Switzerland, which is not an EU member.

[?Contents?]
2.1 General legislative approaches on national basis

In this sub-section, we briefly present the legislative approaches of several EU Member States and Switzerland by summarising only their key aspects. A structured analysis of each of the drafts is given in Annex I to this report.

The Netherlands have worked out a draft ADecree for the Removal of Brown and White Goods that contains regulations for the collection and processing of brown and white goods after use. Producers and importers have to collect and remove products of the same brand and similar products when offered to them by Repair Firms or public authorities who will organise the collection from private households. Producers / importers are financially responsible for deficits that may arise along the Chain. The decree refers to electrical and electrical appliances which will be sold in the future as well as to the historical stock.

Re-use and recycling targets are not covered by the decree but will be dealt with in technical guidelines. The Dutch decree includes a ban on storing CFC-containing refrigerators and/or freezers for commercial purposes.

Flandria (Belgium) has passed a take-back legislation for Electrical and Electronic Equipment that will enter into force by 01.06.1999. Under this legislation, WEEE is excluded from the public waste collection system. Producers and importers will have to take back WEEE from wholesale trade and retailers, and must care for its treatment on their costs. Take-back from the last owners shall be organised by retail outlets and wholesale trade. No distinction is made between future WEEE and historical scrap.

Germany has prepared a draft ordinance on the take-back and disposal of office, information and communication equipment (`IT-Altgeräte-VerordnungA, ITVO):

After 1 July 1998, producers and importers will be obliged to take back discarded IT appliances from central collection sites for recycling, treatment and disposal according to the provisions of the German cycle economy law (Kreislaufwirtschafts- und Abfallgesetz). Landfilling of IT equipment that has been separately collected will be forbidden. The draft ITVO contains an obligation for the last owner to bring back his discarded IT appliances. Public authorities have to collect waste electrical and electronic appliances from private households and keep them ready for transport to the recycler. Producers and importers will have to bear the costs for treatment of WEEE that will arise after the ITVO enters into force, but not for historical scrap.

Ten months after its appearance, the draft ITVO is still in the process of interministerial consultations between the ministry of environment and the ministry of economy.

In Austria, specific take back ordinances for two groups of WEEE (lamps and refrigerators / freezers) were passed in 1992. On purchase of these appliances, consumers must pay a deposit that will be paid back when the appliance is brought back at end-of-life. The take-back ordinance for refrigerators was amended in 1995: after the amendment, instead of charging a deposit of ATS 1.000 to the consumer, retailers can alternatively participate in a nation-wide take-back system under which the consumer receives a voucher for which he has to pay only ATS 100 as a down payment for future recycling costs.

For collection and treatment of electrical and electronic appliances, Austria has published guidelines which are legally non-binding.

In November 1997, the Parliament of Sweden has passed a law (proposition 1996/97:172) containing an outline for producer´s responsibility for electrical and electronic equipment. Now the government has to design a take-back ordinance according to this law. The ordinance on producer responsibility will probably cover new products as well as historical products which entered the market before the ordinance came into force. Recyclers of WEEE will be required to undergo a certification procedure (WIDE, pers. comm.).

In Denmark an ordinance for treatment of waste from electrical and electronic euqipment is presently being discussed (draft 29 April, 1998). According to this draft, municipalities must set up separate collection systems for old appliances; they can seek financial refunding from the central government. Problematic components shall be isolated from the WEEE, and all fractions shall be recycled or treated according to state of the art technology. Producers can set up their own take-back schemes but will have to follow the same requirements with respect to environmentally sound treatment.

In Italy a framework legislation on take back for some wastes is in force. Italy is working on a regulation for collection, sorting and dismantling of several wastes, including some WEEE categories. This regulation will give instructions for various recovery procedures (BRUNELLI, pers. comm.).

Switzerland has worked out an ordinance on bring-back, take-back and treatment of electrical and electronic appliances (VREG, 1998) that will enter into force on July 1, 1998. The ordinance includes

[?Contents?]
2.2 Comparative analysis of national legislation

Qualitative Objectives

Qualitative objectives for future waste management of WEEE range from general statements such as Aenvironmentally sound treatment (e.g. Austria, Denmark) to specific objectives as Ano landfillA (Germany, Sweden) and Ano landfill or incineration without previous treatment (the Netherlands).
The ordinance of Switzerland sets minimum standards for treatment according to state of the art technology.
In Flandria, re-usable and non-usable equipment have to be separated; the non-usable equipment has to be treated in an environmentally friendly way. Criteria for recycling centres are given, and recycling rates are set for ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals and plastics.
Only Switzerland and Germany have an obligation for the last owner to bring back discarded appliances in their (draft) legislation.

Quantitative Objectives

None of the mentioned countries sets quantitative targets for WEEE collection as defined quota in their regulations.

The Netherlands follow the policy to collect Aas much as possible in order to get the WEEE out of the domestic waste. Therefore they intend to avoid anything that might discourage the last owner from bringing back his WEEE for recycling, which is a strong argument against charging any disposal fees from the last owner.

Denmark intends to set collection targets at the level of technical guidelines but not in national legislation (GRAU, pers. comm).

Estimated amount of WEEE

The national regulations usually do not mention estimations on the potential amount of WEEE. Those estimations of the potential amount of WEEE that do exist in various countries have been helpful for underlining the importance of the WEEE waste stream and to promote the enactment of a specific legislation. However, these estimations are not used as a basis for quota or targets because most involved experts do not think that these figures are reliable enough to draw concrete conclusions from them. Rather, they are just helpful to get a rough estimate of the order of magnitude of WEEE that might come back in the future, e.g.:


Sub-Classes of WEEE

In each country, sub-groups of WEEE are defined in a slightly different way:

The Austrian guideline, which is legally non-binding, distinguishes between large appliances, small appliances, and screens (cathodic ray tubes, CRT). Additionally, individual ordinances exist for lamps and refrigerators / freezers.

The Netherlands mention 14 product categories that will be regulated in two steps: Phase one (to be realised in 1998) includes refrigerators and freezers, washing machines and tumbler dryers, cooking appliances, television receivers and image receiving equipment, computers, paper-printing equipment, and telecommunications equipment.

Electric radiators, water heaters, audio equipment, electrical and electronic charging equipment, electrical and electronic kitchen equipment, electrical and electronic tools, and other electrical and electronic household appliances will follow in the second phase one year later.

The take-back ordinance of Switzerland (VREG, 1998) generally addresses appliances which depend on electricity and specifically mentions

An open clause allows to draft additional legislation for other appliances.

The German ITVO (draft 1997) only adresses IT equipment (office, information and communication equipment) which is specified as (all types of) computers, monitors, printers, plotters, scanners, electrical typewriters, fotocopy machines, telecommunication equipment such as telephones and fax machines, presentation equipment such as overhead projectors and LCD panels.

Separate legislation for take-back of household appliances is still in discussion in Germany.

While Denmark intends to establish separate collection for all kinds of electrical and electronic appliances, some product groups such as consumer electronics, office and IT equipment, control engineering and medical equipment are specifically mentioned because they contain problematic components or substances.

Flandria regulates white goods (refrigerators and freezers, large white goods, small white goods), brown goods with screen, brown goods without screen and small household appliances.

Monitoring Instruments

For monitoring purposes, all EU Member States that do have (draft) legislation on WEEE require reports to their responsible authorities:

In Austria, the recycling and disposal systems for refrigerators and lamps must report to the Ministry the number of appliances that have been taken back. For refrigerators and freezers, the treatment costs also have to be reported. For WEEE in general, no reporting duties exist so far because legislation is lacking.

In Switzerland, everybody who is active in the management and disposal of WEEE has to get a disposal permit by the Canton that contains certain reporting duties. An export permit issued by the BUWAL is needed in order to export waste electrical appliances, and a tracking form must go with each export.

In the Netherlands, the producers and importers must either individually or collectively `develop an adequate recording and control system that focuses on financial transactions as well as material input and output in terms of e.g. number of discarded appliances of a particular kind and tonnes of collected appliances of a particular kind and tonnes of recycled material or residual waste of a particular kind, as the case may beA (explanatory note to the decree). Every year before 1st July, producers and importers must send a report to the Minister that explains how the obligations have been implemented in the previous year.

In Flandria the amount of recycled, disposed and incinerated materials from WEEE must be reported to OVAM, the national waste authority:

Under the German ITVO, producers and importers must report to their waste authority on the kind, quantity and fate of WEEE that has been taken back. They can do this either individually or collectively through their organisations.

The Danish draft ordinance requires producers / importers who collect their own old appliances to report to Miljøstyrelsen about the kind and quantity of WEEE that has been taken back, and about the way it was treated. Similar information must be provided from companies and institutions who hand over their waste directly to a recycler. For local authorities, no reporting duties are explicitly mentioned in the draft ordinance; however, since they will seek refunding of their expenses from the government, they will have to present some documentation which in the future could be used as a data base for monitoring (Christensen, pers. comm.).

[?Contents?]
3. The numerator of the WEEE collection ratio - Assessment of pilot projects

Pilot projects for collection of WEEE have been carried out in a number of municipalities in various countries. We have evaluated reports about collection experiences from

Numerous variations of collection systems have been established during these pilot projects or sometimes already for routine collection of WEEE. In some schemes the WEEE was collected from the households; more often, however, citizens have to deliver the WEEE to more or less centralised collection sites.

Common delivery systems are collection at municipal depots or recycling centres, take-back by retailer, and collection together with the small chemical waste.
In most collection schemes, the largest fraction of WEEE was collected at municipal depots. Normally these are well accepted if they are easy to reach for the consumers and have long opening hours.
A second important collection route is take back by retailers. This system often works on an old for new basis.
Collection of small appliances by the small chemical waste route was found to be adequate in some rural areas even if the quantitative yield was comparatively low.

Collection from households is organised either as take-back by retailers on an old-for-new basis (when delivering a new appliance into a private household), separate collection with the regular domestic waste collection, various types of kerbside collection or collection on request.

Determination of weight of the collected WEEE is normally done by the recycler to whom the collected appliances are handed over for further treatment. In some pilot projects, collected items were counted at the municipal depot.

[?Contents?]
3.1 Collection experiences in the various countries

In the following paragraphs, the main experiences from different countries are summarized. Annex II contains more detailed descriptions of the collection schemes.

Experiences from Austria

WEEE is collected predominantly by bring systems. These exist either in more decentralised forms, using containers close to the households, while more centralized systems offer collection sites only at municipal depots.

Discarded electrical and electronic appliances are being collected in several Austrian provinces. Two pilot projects, one in Vorarlberg and one in Styria, have been intensely investigated. A comprehensive report about the pilot project in Flachgau will be published shortly (AMT DER SALZBURGER LANDESREGIERUNG, 1998).

The following aspects were identified as very important for good collection results:

Factors that had a negative effect on collection success were Involved experts in Bregenz considered long opening hours at the municipal depots to be responsible for their good results. However, opening hours seemed to be less important in Weiz, where the collection results of recycling centres which opened only once in a month did not differ from those with longer opening hours. Municipalities whose recycling centres opened collection only twice in a year were among those with the best collection success.
Typical difficulties that could be observed were the following: - In one of the pilot projects, the container collection was abolished because only rather low amounts of WEEE were delivered in poor quality.

- In Bregenz citizens used kerbside collection of bulky waste for their old appliances although this collection system was not meant for WEEE.

- In Weiz, a flea market was part of the collection systems but also for re-sale of appliances which were still usable. At this flea market, no systematic monitoring was performed.

 Experiences in the Netherlands

In the Eindhoven district, 29 of 34 municipalities participated in the so-called `apparetourA project between 1995 and 1997. The project was designed to investigate `collection and logisticsA, `dismantling and recyclingA as well as `selection and repair of refrigeratorsA.

Several collection systems were offered in parallel: Bring systems included municipal depots, retailers or second-hand shops, and the small chemical waste route. Collection from private households was organised by retailers or second-hand shops who collected electrical appliances (old for new) on request, and by the local public waste management systems (in fixed frequencies).

Important influence factors for a good collection success were

- a good information of the public
- the offer of several collection systems in parallel
- committed staff in the local authorities. Although the public was well informed and motivated, the collected amounts of WEEE appeared to be rather small when compared to theoretical estimates (only 40% in the best cluster). The investigators conclude that especially for small appliances the garbage must be considered as a `highly competitive channelA (see section 4.3).

Experiences from Germany

In several parts of Germany, WEEE has been collected by municipal waste authorities, sometimes during pilot projects, in other cases already as a regular service (e.g. in Bremen). At the same time, take-back of old appliances for new ones by retailers is fairly common especially for large household appliances.

Various collection systems are offered to the last owners in different regions:

Some municipalities offer collection of WEEE (mostly large appliances) from private households on request; others collect WEEE from the households via kerbside collection of bulky wastes on a monthly or quarterly basis. In some places, small appliances are allowed to be thrown into the `yellow sackA of the Duales System for packaging materials, still others allow their citizens to put small appliances visibly on top of the waste bin.

Typical bring systems for WEEE collection are organised at municipal depots, via service firms, via retailers or through the small chemical wastes route.

Important influence factors for good collection results were

- co-existence of several collection systems in parallel
- no costs for the consumer
- commited staff
- providing good information to the public. For small items, charging disposal fees led to poor collection results and a higher amount of WEEE in the residual domestic waste. When disposal fees were charged for larger items like television sets, the appliances seemed to be stored in the households or `exportedA into neighbouring counties where no fees were required.

Monitoring difficulties arise when large retailers and supplying firms collect WEEE parallel to municipal authorities: Retailers appear to collect fairly high amounts of large appliances, but the take-back yield was not registered in most monitoring systems. An additional difficulty arises here since the catchment area of these large supplying firms is often larger than the catchment area of the responsible public authority; consequently, the quantities of WEEE collected by large retailers cannot be precisely assigned to a certain area.

Experiences from France

France is carrying out two pilot projects on WEEE collection. The projects are not finished yet. First results of collection yields have been published as pre-reports and are reported in Annex II of this study.

Experiences from the United Kingdom

A collection trial has been performed in the Edinburgh and Lothian region between May 1995 and August 1996 (LEEP, 1997). However, this trial is not comparable with the other pilot projects discussed so far because its focus was primarily on WEEE collection from workplaces, while domestic WEEE contributed only 10 per cent.

Other pilot projects in the UK that do aim at WEEE collection from private households are not yet finished. First preliminary informations are available from two projects that were initiated by ICER in Midhurst and Worthing, West Sussex. One project used collection via municipal depots, the other one collected only small items via kerbside collection in grey plastic bags.

Meanwhile, ICER has started a third project in order to investigate the collection of large and medium-sized domestic items. This project also examines disposal routes which are competing with municipal collection of WEEE. As a first result, it was observed that only approximately 20% of WEEE were caught by the trial, while 80% entered the existing route of scrap metal recovery (ICER, 1996).

In Worthing, the collection yields of kerbside collection for small appliances were extremely poor. Possible explanations that have been suggested by the organisers of the pilot projects are

- some bags may have been stolen from the streets;
- items may have been brought to a civic amenity site without announcing it to the project organisers;
- perhaps many citizens did not accept the new collection scheme and continued to use their waste bin instead.
[?Contents?]
3.2 Quantitative Yield of WEEE in the various Collection Schemes

The quantitative yields of WEEE in the various collection schemes are difficult to compare with each other because almost every single project had different definitions for the waste it was aiming at.
In Austria, refrigerators and freezers were not counted in one pilot project because, being already subject to a specific regulation, they were excluded from the investigation.
Some Austrian projects admitted WEEE from commercial actors to the public system. Most projects, however, concentrated on private households and did not allow delivery of WEEE from commercial activities.
Quantitative figures from the UK relate to households and have to be transformed into per capita figures (one average household = 2,5 persons) in order to be comparable with other reports.
In Eindhoven, all data were gained on an item basis rather than by weight (only one total amount is reported in weight).

With all these reservations in mind, Table 1 (p. 14) is an attempt to present the collection yields from various regions in Europe in a synoptical way.

It can be seen from Table 1 that there is a wide variation between collection yields of total WEEE between just above 1 kg/inhabitant per year (e.g. Eindhoven, NL and Midhurst, UK) and more than 10 kg/inhabitant per year (maximum yield in part of the Weiz project, Austria). A typical average collection yield that has been achieved by several counties e.g. in Austria, Germany and France lies around 3 - 5 kg/inhabitant per year.

An even wider range of collection yields is observed for small appliances, ranging from a minimum collection success of only 0,01 kg/inhabitant per year (several pilot projects in various countries) up to more than 1 kg/inhabitant per year as reported for the German county of Paderborn in the ARGUS study (1996).

[?Contents?]
3.3 Costs of separate WEEE Collection

Some data on the costs of separate WEEE collection are available from an investigation on the present state of WEEE collection in Lower Saxony (Germany), from the Austrian pilot projects and from the Netherlands.
The reported costs are not directly comparable because different bases were used for calculation (costs per weight, cost per item, costs per inhabitant, costs for collection only vs. costs for collection and recovery/disposal.
The Eindhoven report states that the cheapest collection route is the municipal depot. To collect one item costs approximately 5 dfl. irrespective of the number of items that are collected. The second cheapest option is collection via retailers which costs ca. 8 dfl. per collected item. This amount will go down to less than 6 dfl. (ex VAT) if more than 5000 items are collected.
Based on this experience, the Dutch Ministry of Environment estimates the overall WEEE collection costs for local authorities at 7 million dfl. after the decree comes into force.

For Lower Saxony (Germany), the costs for collection of small appliances in recycling centres is estimated at approximately 250,- DM/Mg (125 ecu/Mg). This calculation covers the costs for trucks, containers and the transport to the municipal depot. Costs for space and buildings are not included.

Weiz (Austria) reports `specific treatment costsA, i.e. costs for collection and recovery at an average of 5,2-9,3 ATS per kg of WEEE (370-650 ecu/Mg) or 15,6-28 ATS per inhabitant and year. Ranges of costs (incl. 20% VAT) are also reported in sub-groups for large appliances range (2,9-6,1 ATS per kg), for screens (9,8-18,4 ATS per kg) and for small appliances (11,4-15,4 ATS per kg).

The determining factors for the costs in Weiz were

In Bregenz, costs for routine collection are estimated at 420.000 ATS for one year or at 15 ATS per inhabitant and year, which at a collection rate of 4,1 kg/inhabitant is equivalent to 3,7 ATS/kg WEEE. Costs for the Bregenz pilot project were significantly higher due to the large effort for monitoring.
[?Contents?]
3.4 Monitoring Experiences

During the pilot project in Bregenz (Austria), monitoring was very sophisticated. A tracking form had to be filled in for each item, but this exercise turned out to be too laborious for a daily routine. In future the collected amount of WEEE will be determined once in a week. Collection schemes in Weiz and Eindhoven also used tracking forms for each item during the investigation period. In most other cases, the weight of the collected WEEE was recorded on the site of the recycler.
From several collection schemes it was reported that the coexistence of collection routes causes some problems with respect to monitoring. While public authorities are able to register the aggregated quantities of WEEE even if collected by various routes, a solution will have to be found for the question how the quantities collected by retailers can be registered and reported to a monitoring institution: in many European regions, significant quantities of WEEE are transported from the retail outlet directly to the producer or a recycling institution without being registered. The catchment area of large supply firms are larger than the catchment area of the responsible local or county authority. Any future monitoring system for WEEE collection in Europe will have to take care of this problem by adequate methods.

[?Contents?]
3.5 Sub-Classes of WEEE

As already mentioned, each collection scheme or pilot project used its own classification of WEEE. In the following, we describe a few typical examples of how WEEE has been adressed and divided in sub-classes during some of the pilot projects. On this basis, we will make a proposal for a future standardisation sub-classes.

The two pilot projects in Austria (Bregenz and Weiz) addressed the following sub-groups of WEEE:

  1. Large household appliances
  2. TV sets and monitors
  3. Computers and communication equipment
  4. Consumer electronics (`brown goodsA)
  5. Film and photographic eqipment
  6. Small appliances (simple or complex).
Those appliances for which regulations already existed in Austria (i.e. refrigerators and freezers, batteries and accumulators, lamps) were sometimes included and sometimes excluded from the collection scheme.

In Eindhoven, five main groups of WEEE were distinguished:

  1. Large domestic appliances
  2. Small domestic appliances
  3. Electronic appliances with screen
  4. Electronic appliances without screen
  5. Small household appliances.
For more detailed evaluations, large appliances were further divided into CFC-containing appliances, CRT-containing appliances (TV sets and monitors), and other large domestic appliances.

The Dutch recycling firm MIREC proposes eight clusters:

1. Large white goods and small white goods
2. CFC-containing products
3. CRT-containing products (e.g. TV sets)
4. Brown goods
5. Electrical products from households and business (not mentioned above) containing hazardous constituents
6. Medical equipment
7. Gas discharge lamps
8. Incandescent lamps. Any reasonable classification of WEEE into sub-classes must be easily understandable for the consumers and at the same time make sense with respect to waste management practices. Ökopol proposes to work with two lists of WEEE, one list for consumer information and a slightly more aggregated list for waste management and monitoring purposes:

For consumer information purposes, awareness should be raised towards the following appliances that must be separately collected as WEEE:

For information of consumers, we do not share the opinion that a catch-up category like `electrical products from households and business containing hazardous constituentsA (as suggested by MIREC) is of much help, because
  1. it is often almost impossible to say whether an electrical or electronic appliance contains hazardous constituents or not (ARGUS 1996, ISAH 1997);
  2. creating such a sub-group would only shift the uncertainty from professionals in the waste management sector to non-professionals in private households;
  3. several studies show that principally all WEEE including small appliances must be considered to contain hazardous constituents (ARGUS 1996, ISAH 1997).
If private households are requested to separately collect additional sub-classes of WEEE, these sub-classes must be clearly defined in an easily understandable way, based on the need for separate treatment during collection, recycling or disposal.

For waste management purposes (collection, recycling and monitoring), we believe that only five sub-groups of WEEE are necessary:
 
WEEE sub-group Reason
1. Refrigerators & freezers
     
 need for safe transport (without destruction) and subsequent separate treatment
2. Large white goods [except refrigerators] will normally be sent to shredders for ferrous metals recovery
3. TV sets & monitors need for safe transport (without destruction) and subsequent separate treatment
4. Light sources need for special recycling or recovery processes
5. other WEEE* all remaining WEEE (office and IT equipment, `brown goodsA & small appliances) is expected to go into very similar recycling or recovery operations.
* Note: With respect to the wide range of products covered by sub-group 5 (other WEEE), separate collection by product group and brand will obviously be a prerequisite for brand-specific recycling schemes for certain product groups.
In all other cases, separate registration maybe desirable for reasons of cost allocation, but no separate collection appears necessary for waste management and recycling purposes.

[?Contents?]
4. The denominator of the WEEE collection ratio

4.1 Methods for the Estimation of the WEEE Potential

Principally, two fundamental methods have been applied in the past in order to estimate the potential amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The `consumption and useA method takes the average equipment of a typical household with electrical and electronic appliances as the basis for a prediction of the potential amount of WEEE; the `market supplyA method uses data about production and sales figures in a given geographical region instead. Both methods rely on certain assumptions about the statistical residence time (`life-timeA) of electrical and electronic appliances in the private household before they ultimately become waste.
 

4.1.1 The "Consumption and Use" Method

As a basis, a typical household is defined and characterised by its number of members and an average equipment with electrical and electronic appliances from the major product groups (large household appliances, consumer electronics etc.). Assumptions are made about the average weight of every single type of appliance, and about the average life-time of each product.

For each type of product, the assumed weight is multiplied with the number of households and the penetration grade and divided by the life-time (in years) to give the expected annual WEEE potential of a given geographical region. This exercise is repeated for all product groups of electrical and electronic appliances which are assumed to be present in an average household in order to calculate the total WEEE potential for one year.

Data about the number of households and the number of persons in an average household can be taken from official statistics. The typical equipment with electrical and electronic appliances can be determined by various methods for market research.

Example 1: Estimation of the WEEE Potential for the Netherlands

For the year of 1992, the consulting bureau B&G has estimated the potential amount of WEEE in the Netherlands at 117.100 Mg (BUREAU B&G, 1993): For a typical household, the penetration grades were assumed between 10% for laundry dryers and 300% for `other kitchen appliancesA. Average life-times of the appliances (between 7 years e.g. for video and computers and 30 years for electric cookers) were extrapolated backwards to the supposed year of purchase. By multiplying the number of households officially registered in that year (1985 or 1962, resp.) with the penetration grade, the total number of end-of-life appliances was estimated for 1992. Multiplication of this number of appliances from the various product groups with their estimated average weights gave the WEEE potential for the Netherlands in weight.

A prognosis for the year 2005 was made by following the same method but with modified penetration grades. Generally, a higher degree of penetration was assumed for 2005 in comparison with 1992. Among the few exceptions are e.g. sewing machines which are supposed to decline from 66% to 63% penetration. The catalogue of appliances under consideration remained unchanged between the 1992 estimation and the 2005 prognosis.
 

4.1.2 The "market supply" method

For this method, a catalogue of electrical and electronic appliances is defined. For each appliance from this catalogue, an assumption about its average life-time is made. By extrapolating this life-time backwards, the WEEE potential is then estimated from historical production and sales figures of the different product groups, corrected by imports and exports. The WEEE potential on weight basis is calculated by multiplying the number of appliances in each product group with their average weights.

Example 2: Assessment of the WEEE Potential for Germany (by ZVEI)

On the basis of historical production figures for industrial and consumer goods, the German electrical and electronic industries association (ZVEI, 1993) has estimated the WEEE potential for Germany for the year of 1994 at 1,5 million Mg. The production figures were linked with assumed life-times between 3 and 15 years (e.g. 15 years for large household appliances, 4 years for computers, 7 years for photocopy machines, 3 years for lamps).
Approximately 600.000 Mg WEEE originate from industrial and commercial sectors, while consumer goods from private households contribute ca. 900.000 Mg to the overall WEEE potential. Large household appliances (`white goodsA) are estimated at 500.000 Mg annually, TV sets at 150.000 Mg, other consumer electronics (`brown goodsA) at 100.000 Mg and small household appliances at 72.500 Mg.

In the context of the present discussion of the German draft ordinance on take-back and disposal of office, information and communication equipment (`IT-Altgeräte-VerordnungA, ITVO), ZVEI has made a specific estimation for IT equipment in Germany: Based on production, import and export statistics of 1996, the amount of IT equipment that will be subject to the take-back ordinance is estimated at 370.000 Mg. However, no estimation was made as to the amount of WEEE that will correspond to this production volume.

Example 3: WEEE assessment for Germany by VDMA

A second estimation of the German WEEE potential has been made by the German Association of the Machine and Plant Engineering Industries (VDMA, 1993). This estimation was based on the German production volume of industrial and consumer goods in 1985 and corrected by import and export figures. With an assumed average life-time of 7 years, irrespective of the type of appliance, the WEEE potential was estimated at 1,3 million Mg in 1992 (West Germany alone) and, following the same method but taking into account the German reunion, expected to rise to 1,9 million Mg for the year of 1998.
 

4.1.3 Other estimations of the WEEE Potential

Although only few estimations exist in Europe which are as elaborate as those already discussed, some more approaches shall be reported here:

For the German Federal State of Lower Saxony, the waste management organisation NGS has adjusted the ZVEI and VDMA estimations by taking into account three additional aspects: The figures based on national production statistics were modified for consumption and use patterns which were believed to reflect the regional situation more precisely. Secondly, it was attempted to take into account those household appliances which are typically used in companies and offices, like e.g. refrigerators and coffee machines. Thirdly, two different scenarios for the average life-time of appliances (7 years and 10 years, resp.) were applied to give a range of the expected WEEE potential.

The Swiss environmental agency (BUWAL) estimates the WEEE potential for Switzerland at 110.000 Mg, based on the assumption that private households are already `saturatedA and for each new appliance an old one reaches its end-of-life. Under this assumption the average life-time of the appliances is irrelevant (TELLENBACH, pers. comm.).

For the OECD countries, the annual WEEE potential has been roughly estimated at an average of 20 kilograms per capita. To this total amount, private households are expected to contribute 12 kilograms, while 5 kg come from the industrial sectors and 3 kg from cables.

In their study for the European Commission, AEA Technology (1997) give an overview of the various methods to determine the WEEE potential. Based on several different studies, the WEEE potential in the European Union is estimated at circa 4 to 6 million Mg for 1992; this is expected to increase to between 5,4 and 6,7 million towards the end of the decade. Derived from the OECD estimates, the European WEEE potential is estimated at even 7,4 million Mg per annum.

In the same study, an example is calculated for the United Kingdom: With a given `standing stockA of 250 to 300 kilograms of electrical and electronic appliances in an average household of 2,5 persons, and under the assumptions of steady state conditions and a uniform life-time of electrical appliances of 10 years, the WEEE potential for the UK is calculated at 640.000 Mg per year.

[?Contents?]
4.2 Methodological Limitations and Uncertainties

The existing estimations of the WEEE potential in Europe cannot be directly compared with each other because they differ from each other in several factors. Some of these aspects could be compensated for by standardisation of methods but others are much more complex and will probably always remain as uncertainties.

The most relevant factors to be mentioned here are the catalogue of electrical and electronic appliances, their average weight, their average life-time and the socio-economic situation in different geographical regions.

The catalogue of electrical and electronic appliances

In comparison to other priority waste streams like cars or tyres, waste electrical and electronic appliances are a highly diverse group of products. A comparison of the catalogue of appliances which was used in the various estimations of the WEEE potential exhibits the fact that each assessment used a slightly different list of items.

While it should be possible to standardise the catalogue of appliances in assessments following the "consumption and use" method by checking along rather detailed lists, this seems to be much more problematic when the "market supply" method is applied because it is almost impossible to unambiguously identify all relevant appliances in the existing official statistics about production, imports and exports of electrical appliances: In the Combined Nomenclature (CN), electrical and electronic appliances are listed under 87 different headings which are split among four different chapters of product groups (ORGALIME, 1998). Under these circumstances, precise identification of all relevant electrical and electronic appliances is a highly laborious task and at the same time associated with significant uncertainties both from double counting or missing out certain products.

An additional difficulty arises because the rapid technological development constantly leads to the emerging of new products (e.g. CD player, mobile phone, microwave cooker), or to the fusion of functions which were formerly considered to belong to completely different products (e.g. telephone and telefax) or even major product groups (e.g. `brown goodsA [TV set] and `IT equipmentA [PC monitor]). For an assessment of the WEEE potential, any catalogue of appliances must be broad enough to accommodate for such new developments.

In summary, any catalogue of electrical and electronic appliances for assessment of the WEEE potential needs to contain very specific lists in order not to miss out any relevant product group, but at the same time must have broad categories to keep pace with technological developments. Since these two requirements are rather incompatible we expect any future method for assessment of the WEEE potential to be left with a certain degree of uncertainty.

Conversion of Units: Number of Appliances into Mass of WEEE

In any assessment of the WEEE potential, a mathematical conversion of the number of waste electrical and electronic appliances into the mass of WEEE must be performed at a certain stage.

A simple comparison of data from existing studies clearly shows that the average weights even of standard household appliances vary in a wide range (Table 2):
 

Table 2: Average weight of electric household appliances (in kg)
from selected studies
Investigation B & G (1993) INFA (1995)
Country / region Netherlands
1992		 Bochholt 09/1994 Bochholt 11/1994 Recklinghausen 1993 Germany 1992:
New appliances1
Vacuum cleaner
7,5
4,6
3
4
8,9
Coffee / tea machine
1,5
0,9
1,2
1,1
2,2
kitchen appliances
1,5
2,2
2
1,4
5,2
flat-irons
1
1
1,1
1,1
1,4

1 Average weight of new appliances according to ZVEI statistics 09/1992

The differences of up to more than 100 per cent within some product categories can be explained by different types of products that fall into one and the same category, often in combination with changing material composition and the constant development of new product designs.

Average Life-time of Products

From a waste management point of view, the average life-time of products can be interpreted in three different ways: the actual use period of a product is often much shorter than its technical life-time, which in turn maybe strongly influenced by the intensity of use: the cathodic ray tube of a black-and-white television that theoretically should have reached its technical end-of-life many years ago may still function after several decades when only switched on occasionally in a week-end house.

The storage time after which an old electrical or electronic appliance is actually disposed of and thus becomes waste can be either shorter or longer than the technical life-time: private households tend to store electrical appliances which are out of use for very long periods of time, because they might be needed again as substitutes, given to another family member, taken into use again in week-end houses etc.

Table 3 gives an overview over typical average life-times of electrical appliances that have been taken as a basis for the various assessments of the WEEE potential.

In the meantime, based on more recent findings the German ZVEI has strongly questioned the significance of his formerly estimated life-times of electrical appliances. The average life-time of small household appliances, which was assumed to be 8 years in the 1993 study, is now thought to be closer to 12 years with a statistical error of plus/minus 4 years (FREY & RETHMANN, pers. comm.).
 
Table 3: Average life-times of electric household appliances (in years) from selected studies
Investigation B & G (1993) ZVEI (1993) VDMA (1993) BUWAL (1998) AEA (1997)
Country Netherlands Germany Germany Switzerland England
Computers
7 
4 
 

7
 

"0"
 
 

(assumed "saturation" of households)
 

10
household appliances
7 - 30
10 
Lamps
not mentioned
3 
electric tools
20 
10 
flat-irons
15 
8

To summarise, the poor knowledge about the actual storage time of electrical and electronic appliances, especially in private households, leaves all estimations of the WEEE potential with a degree of uncertainty that may only become smaller for specific product groups when steady state equilibria are established after long periods of time.

Socio-economic Variations

For many EU Member States, national investigations about the WEEE potential are not available. Even for those countries for which such studies have been performed, there are significant regional variations of the available household income that maybe spent for electrical household appliances or IT and consumer electronics. Variations are to be expected between urban and rural areas and between agricultural, heavily industrialised, or more service-oriented regional economies.

The various studies assume different penetration grades of electrical appliances in private households (Table 4). However, no pilot study is known to us that has attempted to clearly measure these regional differences.
 
Table 4: Estimated penetration grades of electrical appliances in private households
Investigation B&G (1993) INFA (1995)
Country Netherlands Germany
Vacuum cleaners 100% 150%
Coffee machines 80% 99%
Flat-irons 90% 126%
Fryers 50% 14%

Consequently, the potential amount of waste electrical and electronic appliances that shall be aimed at by separate collection in Europe will differ within fairly wide ranges between Member States, and also between various regions inside the Member States.

At the same time, the collection effort that will be necessary to get hold of a certain percentage of this WEEE potential strongly varies between urban and rural regions.

If a numeric target for WEEE collection in Europe will be expressed in kilograms per capita and year, this will have to allow for certain ranges to accommodate these regional differences.

[?Contents?]
4.3 Analysis of Residual Domestic Wastes

As has been shown in Section 3.2, at present a rather successful separate collection of WEEE in Europe will probably not catch more than an average of 4-5 kg per inhabitant annually. When this is compared to the theoretically expected annual potential of ca. 20 kilograms (OECD estimation), a fairly wide gap remains to be explained.

Theoretically, one can think of quite a number of disposal channels for WEEE that can compete with regular collection through public authorities. Among these are

In order to check the importance of WEEE disposal via the residual waste, several counties and municipalities have carried out random test analyses of the domestic residual waste in order to cross-check the success of their separate collection.

During the Eindhoven collection experiment, parallel investigations showed that the domestic residual waste contained approximately 1-2 kilograms WEEE per household and year, corresponding 0,4 - 0,8 kg per inhabitant annually.

In another investigation from the Netherlands, four municipalities found between 0,08 and 0,9 kg WEEE per inhabitant and year inhabitant in their residual waste (CREM, 1998).

ARGUS (1996) carried out 12 analyses of domestic residual wastes from six different German cities or counties and calculated annual amounts between 0,52 and 3,6 kg WEEE/inhabitant in the residual waste.

Such analyses of residual waste are a rather laborious exercise and therefore not suited for routine monitoring: In the ARGUS study, a typical sample consisted of 50 m3 of domestic waste. Any WEEE that was found in this sample had to be sorted out by hand. The WEEE content in the residual waste of each single city was calculated on the basis of two such campaigns and expressed in terms of kg WEEE/inhabitant per year. Such a result must be taken with some care because in practice only a negligible part of the total domestic waste of that year can actually be analysed in this way.

ARGUS estimates that the potential of WEEE still ending up in the domestic waste ranges between 0,52 and 1,6 kg/inhabitant per year even in cities where separate collection of WEEE already exists.

In summary, analyses for the amount of WEEE in the domestic residual waste have a high value for cross-checking the success of any separate WEEE collection in a qualitative way - however, they do not seem to be suited for routine monitoring purposes because of the huge effort that has to be taken while the error margin of results is very large.

[?Contents?]
5. Conclusions and Recommendations

Several studies have tried to estimate the potential amount of waste electrical and electronic appliances in Europe. Although their methods differ from each other in some key aspects, most assessments agree that the annual waste potential lies around 20 kilogram WEEE per capita. Any attempt to measure this potential more precisely, and to adequately take into account regional and socio-economic differences, will be faced with great difficulties. In our opinion, the total WEEE potential of 20 kg/inhabitant per year should be taken as an indicative value rather than for the denominator of a mathematical calculation of collection yields.

Our evaluation of practical experiences from numerous pilot projects for separate collection has shown that typical collection yields of total WEEE vary between approximately 1 kg/inhabitant per year and more than 10 kg/inhabitant per year. A typical average yield of successful separate collection appears to lie around 3 - 5 kg per capita anually. For pilot projects with a total WEEE collection yield around or even below 1 kg/inhabitant per year, it can be assumed that there is either a significant potential for improvement by increased collection efforts, or that a distortion by parallel systems (e.g. in neighbouring counties or via retailers) has failed to be observed during the studies.

The most relevant influence factors on collection results are summarised in Table 5:
 

Table 5: Relevant Influence Factors for WEEE collection results
Positive influence Negative influence
Good information for the public

Committed staff in waste management

No cost (or low cost) for last owner

Incentive (e.g. pay-back of deposit)

Several parallel collection systems

Opening hours / frequency

...

 ...

Insufficient attendance at the municipal depot

Disposal fee for last owner

...

...

Mobile collection only

Competing disposal pathways

In addition to these factors, geographic variations of WEEE collection rates are observed because

Disposal channels for WEEE that typically compete with regular collection through public authorities are Some of these alternatives would be considered as favourable according to the waste hierarchy while others are clearly unwanted or even illegal.

For large appliances, the risk of wild dumping or disposal via residual waste is relatively lower than for smaller appliances as long as a collection scheme is offered that is acceptable for the consumers. However, take-back via retailers and export may play an important role here that can lower the yield of the separate collection system.

Already for medium-size appliances, disposal into the residual waste becomes more important. E.g. many TV sets fit easily into the large 1,1 m; liter waste containers which are common in many urban quarters.

For small appliances, many experts consider the domestic residual waste to be the most important disposal channel.

Exports of old electrical and electronic appliances play a particularly important role in those regions of the EU where the borders to Eastern Europe are close.
 

Should quantitative targets for WEEE Collection be defined now ?

As already stated, some of the alternative disposal routes for old electrical and electronic appliances are favourable from a waste management point of view while others are rather problematic.

Unless it is exactly known why separate collection of WEEE has failed to reach certain quantitative targets, it appears difficult to enforce such targets by sanctions against any of the actors even if the theoretical amount of WEEE was exactly known.

Therefore, one will have to monitor and find the reasons why WEEE does not enter the separate take-back routes. At the same time, all efforts should be undertaken to make the separate collection systems attractive for the consumers (see Table 5) because some of the unacceptable disposal routes are highly competitive and at the same time extremely difficult to monitor.

In summary, neither the present knowledge of the total amount of WEEE that should theoretically arise, nor the present knowledge about the real fate of most of the electrical appliances after their assumed end-of-life, appear to be suited to define legal targets in terms of percentages for the WEEE collection yield at this stage.

However, the existing estimates of the potential amount of WEEE and the practical collection experiences give helpful orientating values for the order of magnitude that a successful WEEE collection scheme should be able to catch: while no collection scheme so far has succeeded in achieving a yield that corresponds to the predicted annual potential of 20 kilograms WEEE per inhabitant, there have been a number of projects in Austria, France and Germany that were able to collect between 3 and 5 kilograms per capita annually.

At the lower end of the spectrum are pilot projects with a yield between 1 and 2 kilograms of WEEE per inhabitant per year. Even if in many parts of Europe this should be possible to be improved under more favourable conditions, a range of 1 - 2 kg per inhabitant annually might be a fair collection target in other European regions.

Unless there are specific socio-economic reasons, any European collection scheme with a yield below 1 kg per inhabitant and year can be assumed to bear significant inherent potentials for improvement.

Apart from these indicative values, we would not recommend to go into further detail by defining quantitative collection targets more precisely at this stage. Rather, we propose a stepwise approach, starting with monitoring and developing meaningful targets later when knowledge becomes better.
 

How many WEEE sub-groups are necessary for collection purposes ?

Until now, many different classifications of WEEE have been applied by the various collection schemes. Although the differences often may not be very large, we believe that some standardisation of the term WEEE and its sub-classes will be helpful for three reasons:

Any reasonable subdivision of WEEE into sub-classes must be easily understandable for the consumers who are to use the collection systems and at the same time make sense with respect to waste management practices. Ökopol proposes to work with two lists of WEEE, one list for consumer information and a slightly more aggregated list for waste management and monitoring purposes:

A list of waste electrical and electronic appliances that serves for consumer information purposes should include refrigerators and freezers, large household appliances (`white goodsA), TV sets and monitors, office and IT equipment (without monitors), consumer electronics (`brown goodsA), small appliances of all sorts, and light sources.

Awareness towards separate collection should be raised on the grounds that waste electrical and electronic appliances contain both valuable materials that should be recovered and recycled, rather than ending up in landfills and incinerator slags, but also hazardous substances that may lead to environmental problems unless they are properly dealt with in specifically adapted recycling processes.

For waste management purposes (collection, recycling and monitoring), we believe that in most cases only five sub-groups of WEEE are necessary:
 

WEEE sub-group Reason
1. Refrigerators & freezers need for safe transport (without destruction) and subsequent separate treatment
2. Large white goods [except refrigerators] will normally be sent to shredders for ferrous metals recovery
3. TV sets & monitors need for safe transport (without destruction) and subsequent separate treatment
4. Light sources need for special recycling or recovery processes
5. other WEEE * all remaining WEEE is expected to go into very similar recycling or recovery operations.

 *Note: For brand-specific recycling schemes for certain product groups, separate collection by product group and brand will obviously be a prerequisite.
In all other cases, separate registration of sub-classes from the wide range of products covered by sub-group 5 (`other WEEEA) maybe desirable for reasons of cost allocation, but no separate collection appears necessary for waste management and recycling purposes.

[?Contents?]
Proposal: A step-wise Approach to Collection Targets

Step 1:
Collected amounts of WEEE are reported to a central monitoring institution (e.g. European Environmental Agency EEA, Copenhagen) by

  • public authorities (at municipality or county level)
  • trade
  • other involved actors.
    • Quantitative data are recorded for total WEEE and in the sub-groups "refrigerators and freezers", "large household appliances", "TV sets and monitors", "light sources" and "other WEEE" and reported annually in "total kilograms" and "kilograms per inhabitant".

    Step 2:
    EEA draws collection yields into maps in order to make geographical trends visible. Collection yields are checked for plausibility with regard to

  • theoretical WEEE potential
  • collection yield in comparable regions
  • socio-economic factors.
    • Step 3:
    If there is an obvious gap between the expected amount of WEEE and the actual collection yield in a certain region, the reasons for this discrepancy have to be analysed, e.g. by
  • analysis of residual domestic waste
  • monitoring of alternative disposal routes
  • analysis of barriers or incentives of the local collection system
  • search for other factors.
    • Step 4:
    If no plausible explanation is found, the collection system must be modified by e.g.
  • better information for the public
  • lowering barriers for consumers or
  • setting incentives for consumers.
    • Step 5:
    If collection success improves, the improvement measures (Step 4) should be maintained.
    If not è go back to Step 3 and intensify search for reasons.
    [?Contents?]
    Annex I: European National Legislation on WEEE
     
     
    Country Austria
    Regulation Ordinance on the take-back of refrigerators and freezers from 16-7-1992, in force since 1-3-1993, amended 1995). Ordinance on the take-back, deposit system and environmentally sound treatment of lamps (13-3-1992).
    Kind of WEEE Refrigerators and freezers several types of lamps
    Qualitative Objectives Establishment of a complete collection system. Establishment of a complete collection system; environmentally sound treatment.
    For new lamps: restrictions on heavy metals.
    Quantitative Objectives not specified not specified
    Sub-classes of WEEE refrigerators and freezers 8 different types of lamps
    Involved Actors and their
    Obligations    		 During sale:
    Retailer has to charge deposit and mark the appliance or
    sell a voucher for disposal to the consumer
    Consumer has to pay deposit (ATS 1.000) or buy voucher for disposal (ATS 100)

    At end of life:
    Retailer takes back appliance and pays back deposit or takes back old appliance with voucher.
    Consumer eventually has to pay deficit to actual diposal costs.
    Producer/importer must take back old appliances.

    		 During sale:
    Retailer must charge deposit and mark the appliance or hand a credit coin for disposal to the consumer [no deposit duty when `old for newA].

    Consumer has to pay deposit.

    At end of life:
    Retailer must take back the appliance and pay back deposit.

     
    Monitoring Instruments Recycling and disposal system reports to the minister every six months on number of appliances, credit notes and costs. The recycling and disposal system reports to the minister every six months about number of appliances taken back.

     
     
     
     
    Country Denmark
    Regulation Ordinance for treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

    (Draft 29-04-1998)
    Kind of WEEE All kinds of electrical and electronic appliances
    Qualitative Objectives Separate collection and environmentally sound treatment of WEEE;
    problematic components shall be separated from all waste electrical and
    electronic appliances:
    batteries containing cadmium or lead must be separated from all kind of equipment;
    CRT, printed circuit boards, electronic displays, mercury switches and mercury containing batteries, PCB-containing capacitors, flame retarded plastics, and selenium drums must be separated from equipment mentioned in the annexes (see `sub-classes of WEEEA).
    Quantitative Objectives not specified
    Sub-Classes of WEEE Consumer electronics (audio and video);
    information technology (computers, copy machines, typewriters);
    radio and telecommunication equipment (telephone, telefax, transmission and navigation equipment - stationary and mobile); control engineering equipment;
    medical and laboratory equipment (stationary and mobile);
    capacitors;
    transformers.
    Involved Actors and their Obligations Local authorities must set up systems for separate collection of WEEE.
    Retailers can collect old appliances from their customers. They must hand over the collected WEEE to their local authority. Consumers can bring back their WEEE either to the local authority or to their retailer.
    Private companies can chose to give their WEEE to a professional recycler instead of handing it over to the local authorities. Producers and importers can apply for a permit to take back their own end-of- life appliances for recycling. All involved actors must fulfil the requirements with respect to isolation and separate treatment of hazardous components.
    Monitoring Instruments Private companies who give their WEEE to a professional recycler must inform the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (Miljøstyrelsen). Producers and importers who take back their own end-of-life appliances must also report to Miljøstyrelsen Local authorities will seek financial refunding from the Danish government and will therefore have to report their activities. In the future, WEEE will be possibly included in the information system on treatment and recycling of waste according to the Ordinance on Management of Waste (Bekendtgørelse 299, 30-04-1997).

     
     
     
     
    Country Flandria, Belgium
    Regulation Duty of acceptance for Electrical and Electronic Equipment
    (entry into force: 01 June 1999).
    Kind of WEEE Brown and White Goods
    Qualitative Objectives Separation of usable and not usable appliances;
    ban on disposal without previous treatment;
    isolation of PCB and CFC (HCFC);
    materials and parts of appliances have to be disposed and/or treated in a specific and environmentally sound way.
    Quantitative Objectives not specified
    Sub-Classes of WEEE White Goods (refrigerators and freezers; large WG; small WG)
    Brown goods with screen
    Brown goods without screen
    Small household appliances
    Involved Actors and their Obligations Retail outlets have to take back appliances on an old for new basis either in the shop or when delivering. Wholesale trade have to collect WEEE from retailers and bring it to producers or importers. Producers and importers have to care for treatment at their own costs.
    Monitoring Instruments The various actors are obliged to report to OVAM, the Flamish waste management institution: 
    Retailer and wholesale trade must report the amount of WEEE they have taken back in kilograms, kind and number of appliances); Producers and importers must report the amount of WEEE they have taken back (in kg, kind and number of appliances); the installations where the collected WEEE is treated; and the quantities of the WEEE or its parts and materials that have been refurbished, recycled, incinerated or disposed of.

     
     
     
     
    Country Germany
    Regulation Draft ordinance on the take-back and disposal of office, information and communication equipment (`IT-Altgeräte-VerordnungA, ITVO)
    Kind of WEEE IT equipment (computers, monitors, printers, plotters, scanners, electrical typewriters, fotocopy machines, telecommunication equipment such as telephones and fax machines, presentation equipment such as overhead projectors and LCD panels)
    Qualitative Objectives Bring-back obligation for the last owner.
    Ban on landfilling WEEE that has been separately collected.
    Quantitative Objectives not specified
    Sub-Classes of WEEE -
    Involved Actors and their Obligations Last owner: is obliged to bring back his old appliances
    public waste management actors shall collect IT equipment from private consumers; they shall sort IT waste according to recycling routes; they shall keep WEEE ready for transport; they shall bear the costs for historical scrap; they can dispense producers from their recycling duties if WEEE is treated in public facilities. Producers: shall bear the costs for producer-specific sorting (if required); shall pick up collected IT waste for recycling; they shall bear the costs of recycling for `new scrapA after ordinance enters into force; they shall mark the appliances that will be taken back free of charge; they shall report on the kind, quantity and fate of WEEE that has been taken back; they shall recycle and treat WEEE according to the waste law; can commission their duties by contracts with third parties. Diverging solutions will be allowed for IT equipment from industry, commerce, and public authorities.
    Monitoring Instruments Producers and importers must report to their waste authority about the kind, quantity and final fate of WEEE that has been taken back.

     
     
    Country The Netherlands
    Regulation Draft Decree for the Removal of Brown and White Goods (8/1997)
    Kind of WEEE Brown and White Goods
    The decree relates to appliances intended for use in private households or comparable use in businesses. It also relates to the `historical stockA, i.e. products already in use before the decree.
    Qualitative Objectives "Design for recycling"
    Re-use and recycling targets will be written into technical guidelines;
    Ban on landfill and incineration;
    ban on storing CFC-containing refrigerators / freezers for commercial purposes;
    trading ban on CFC-containing refrigerators and freezers.
    Quantitative Objectives "as much as possible"
    Sub-Classes of WEEE 14 product categories:

    Phase one (1998): refrigerators and freezers, washing mashines and tumbler

    dryers, cooking appliances, television receivers and image receiving equipment, computers, paper-printing equipment, telecommunications equipment. Phase two (1999): heaters, water heaters, audio equipment, electrical and electronic charging equipment, electrical and electronic kitchen equipment, electric tools, other electrical and electronic household appliances.
    Involved Actors and their Obligations Retailers and suppliers are obliged to take back the old appliances for free when delivering a new product. They can sell the old product (except CFC- or HCFC-containing refrigerators or freezers) or give it to the producer or importer or to the local authority Local authorities have the responsibility to collect discarded brown and white goods from the households Producers and importers are obliged to pick up WEEE that has been collected by suppliers (`old for newA until 2005, thereafter a `brandrelatedA collection) and local authorities;
    they may set up a removal structure;
    they must make provision to ensure removal of appliances marketed by them if they cease their activities;
    they have to notify to the minister about the way they will implement the obligations including details on the collection, financing and monitoring,
    reporting duty to the minister (see `monitoringA).     Repair Firms in practice will often collect the discarded products Consumer can offer old appliances to the retailer when buying a new product, or if he doesn´t buy a new product he can offer it to the local authority.
    Monitoring Instruments Producers and importers have to develop an adequate recording and control system. Reporting duties about financial transactions, material input and output (e.g. number of discarded appliances, tonnes of collected appliances, tonnes of recycled material or residual waste).

     
     
     
     
    Country Switzerland
    Regulation Ordinance on bring-back, take-back and treatment of electrical and electronic appliances (VREG, 14-01-1998).
    The ordinance will enter into force July 1, 1998.
    Kind of WEEE Electrical and electronic appliances, specifically:
    consumer electronics, office and IT equipment, household appliances.
    Quantitative Objectives not specified
    Qualitative Objectives collection of WEEE with subsequent environmentally sound treatment according to the state of technology
    Sub-Classes of WEEE the Federal Office of Environment, Forests and Landscape (BUWAL) is authorised to define a list of relevant appliances after consultation with the involved economic actors.
    Involved Actors and their Obligations The last owner must bring back his electrical or electronic appliance to a retailer, producer, importer, private facility for WEEE treatment or public collection site.
    Retailers must take back appliances of the same kind as they sell.
    Producers and importers must take back the appliances which they have produced or imported.
    Anyone who treats WEEE must guarantee environmentally sound treatment
    according to the state of technology. A disposal permit is needed.
    Anyone who exports WEEE for recycling and treatment must apply for an export permit.
    Monitoring Instruments A disposal permit is issued by the Cantons for a five year period. It contains details about the treatment of WEEE and reporting duties about the operations.

    Export permits can be issued by the BUWAL. They require specifications of 
    - kind and quantity of WEEE;
    - proof of environmentally sound treatment according to legislation of the importing country;
    - proof of notification of transport to importing and transit states.

    [?Contents?]
    Annex II Detailed description of Collection Schemes
     
    Country, region Austria, Bregenz (10/94 - 12/95) Austria, Weiz (02/95 - 12/95)
    Characteristics of the area

     

    		 28.000 inhabitants

    urban area

    		 83.000 inhabitants, 78 inh./km2

    predominantly rural area;

    close to the Hungarian and Slowenian border
    Collection systems & involved actors No costs for last owner.
     
     

    Central municipal depot (open six days a week);

    take-back by retailers;

    container collection (meanwhile abolished);

    kerbside collection as unwanted route.

    		 Disposal fees for last owner (TV sets).
     
     

    Central municipal depots (differing opening hours, some collected WEEE only twice a year);

    take-back by retailers;

    flea market;

    kerbside collection.
    Annual yield

    of WEEE 

    (per capita)

    		 ~ 4,2 kg
     
     

    ~ 4,6 kg

    (incl. batteries and refrigerators)     		~ 3,0 kg (incl. refrigerators and freezers) lower yield than Bregenz explained by disposal fees and exports.
    Sub-Classes of WEEE Large household appliances

    other large appliances

    CRT-containing TV sets and monitors 

    Small appliances

    (computers and communication equipment, consumer electronics, film and photographic equipment, small household appliances, special appliances, parts) Other appliances already regulated by law: refrigerators and freezers, consumer batteries, accumulators, lamps.    		 Large household appliances

    other large appliances

    CRT-containing TV sets and monitors

    Computers and communication equ.

    Small appliances

    (consumer electronics, film and photographic equipment, small household appliances, special appliances, parts)
    Which WEEE collected by which system Large appliances and CRT mostly handed back to the retailer Large appliances mostly handed in to the municipal depot
    Geographical effects not observed. `betterA collection schemes drain WEEE from neighbouring districts;

    exports are relevant.
    Monitoring Registration of collected quantities. Initially: tracking forms for every single item for monitoring. Registration of collected quantities.
    References Salhofer & Gabriel, 1996; Amt der Steiermärkischen Landesregierung, 1996; Salhofer, pers. comm.; Gungl, pers. comm.

     
     
     
     
    Country, region Germany, Bocholt (1994) Germany, Bocholt (2/95 - 7/95)
    Characteristics of the area 72.129 inhabitants, urban centre with rural surroundings
    Collection systems & Involved actors No costs for last owner
     
     

    Public collection of bulky wastes

    (2 tours) Central municipal depot    		 No costs for last owner
     
     

    Public collection of bulky wastes

    (on request) Central municipal depot
    Annual yield

    of WEEE 

    (per capita)

    		 1,8 kg (total WEEE)

    0,061 kg (small appliances only)

         		1,8 kg (total WEEE)

    0,065 kg (small appliances only)
    Sub-Classes of WEEE

     

    		 Large household appliances

    CRT containing appliances (TV sets and monitors)

    Office and IT equipment

    Consumer electronics

    Small household appliances

    Electric tools

    lamps

    other appliances and parts of appliances
    Which WEEE collected by which system All sub-classes of WEEE were collected with both systems
    Geographical effects  not observed
    Monitoring Registration of collected quantities (by weight) and age of collected items.
    Reference INFA, 1995

     
     
     
     
    Country, region Germany, Recklinghausen (1993) Germany, Dortmund (1994)
    Characteristics of the area 578.828 inhabitants, highly industrialised urban area (Northern Ruhrgebiet) 609.458 inhabitants, urban area
    Collection systems & Involved actors No costs for last owner
     
     

    12 container collection sites for small appliances only

    		 No costs for last owner
     
     

    Public collection of bulky wastes

    (on request) Central municipal depot

    Residual domestic waste
    Annual Yield

    of WEEE

    (per capita)      		0,032 kg (small appliances only) Bulky waste: 1,0 kg (total WEEE)

    0,05 kg (small appliances)
     
     

         Residual waste: 0,8 kg (total WEEE)

    0,4 kg (small appliances)
    Sub-Classes of WEEE small appliances with mains supply:

    vacuum cleaners, coffee and tea machines, motorised kitchen appliances, hair dryers, flat-irons, toasters, radiators.
     
     

    small appliances with batteries / accus:

    vacuum cleaners, electric toothbrushes,

    electric razors.

    		 Bulky waste:

    White goods (except refrigerators), TV sets, consumer electronics, small household appliances, computers and monitors.
     
     

    Residual waste:

    small household appliances, consumer electronics.
    Which WEEE collected by which System WEEE sub-classes as mentioned in container collection sites. no systematic separate collection of WEEE, but rather: analysis of WEEE quantities arising in existing collection systems
    Geographical effects  not observed not observed
    Monitoring Registration of collected quantities (by weight) and age of collected items. Analysis of WEEE arising in existing systems for waste collection.
    Reference INFA, 1995

     
     
     
     
    Country, region Germany, Hannover (since 10/97) Germany, Bremen
    Characteristics of the area 522.000 inhabitants

    urban

    		 urban
    Collection systems & Involved actors

     

    		 Last owner must pay for large appliances (incl. TV); small appliances free of charge.
     
     

    Regular public collection via collection

    of bulky wastes (on request) and at municipal depots

    		 No costs for last owner
     
     

    Regular public collection via

    collection of bulky wastes

    and at municipal depots.
    Annual yield of WEEE

    (per capita)

    		 ~2,3 kg (total WEEE) ~ 4 kg (total WEEE)
    Sub-Classes of WEEE

     

    		 ~0,6 kg (small appliances)

    ~0,8 kg (white goods)

    ~0,6 kg (refrigerators and freezers)

    ~0,3 kg (TV sets)

         		~0,6 kg (small appliances)

    ~1,6 kg (white goods)

    ~1,2 kg (refrigerators + freezers)

    ~0,6 kg (TV sets)
    Which WEEE collected by which System Large appliances via public collection of bulky wastes (on request);

    collection of large and small appliances at municipal depots

    		 Large appliances via public collection of bulky wastes;

    all WEEE sub-classes collected at municipal depots.
    Geographical effects Large retailers offer take-back of large appliances; their yield is difficult to compare with public collection in Hannover because their catchment area is larger. not reported.
    Monitoring Residual domestic waste contained 1,04 kg WEEE per capita and year before separate collection started.

    Control was not repeated yet.

    		  
    Reference Lütge, 1998 and pers. comm.

     
     
     
     
    Country, region France, Rhône-Alpes. France, Strasbourg `Envie/TerraA
    Characteristics of the area [not reported yet] [not reported yet]
    Collection systems & Involved actors Collection at waste collection centres

    and take-back by distributors
     
     
     
     
     
     

    organised by:

    FIEE (Fédération des Industries Électriques et Électroniques)

    		 Collection at waste collection centres

    and take-back by distributors

    [for `intelligent processing of usable productsA]
     
     

    organised by:

    FIEE (Fédération des Industries Électriques et Électroniques)
    Annual yield

    of WEEE

    (per capita)

    		 5,2 kg (total WEEE) 2,3 kg (total WEEE)
    Sub-Classes of WEEE 4,5 kg White goods

    0,7 kg TV sets

         		2,0 kg White goods

    0,3 kg TV sets
    Which WEEE collected by which System WEEE was collected and counted both at distributors´ premises and at waste collection centres. [not reported yet]
    Geographical effects [not reported yet] [not reported yet]
    Monitoring Registration of collected quantities (by weight). Registration of collected quantities (by weight).
    Reference Marty, pers.comm.

     
     
     
     
     
     
    Country, region  The Netherlands, district of Eindhoven (09/95 - 07/97)
    Characteristics of the area Predominantly rural area except around the cities of Eindhoven and Helmond
    • 640.000 inhabitants in the district 
    • 196.000 inhabitants in Eindhoven 
    • 70.000 inhabitants in Helmond
    29 out of 34 municipalities in the district of Eindhoven participated in the project and were arranged in five `clustersA
    Collection systems &

    Involved actors

    		 No costs for last owner.
     
     

    Collection at central municipal depots;

    Take-back by 150 retailers (old for new);

    re-usable items were collected on request by a second hand shop

    public collection from households (monthly, quarterly or on request)

    small chemical waste route (monthly or quarterly)
    Annual yield

    of WEEE

    (per capita)

    		 1,4 kg (total WEEE)
    Sub-Classes of WEEE Large domestic appliances; small domestic appliances; electronic appliances with CRT screen; electronic appliances without screen; small household appliances.
    Which WEEE collected by which System Municipal depots collected about 70% of total WEEE amount, retailers collected about 30%.

    Refrigerators and freezers came mostly via retailer; most small items went to the municipal depot.
    Geographical effects not reported
    Monitoring Collected items were counted and registered. Only one total quantity was reported by weight.
    Reference Ploos van Amstel, 1997

     
     
     
     
    Country, region  Edinburgh and Lothian region (05/95 - 08/96)
    Characteristics of the area City of Edinburgh: 419.059 inhabitants

    East Lothian: 84.114 inhabitants

    17417 workplaces in total.
    Collection systems &

    Involved actors

    		 No costs for last owner.
     
     

    The Lothian and Edinburgh Environmental Partnership (LEEP) organised the collection from 128 workplaces and at 5 municipal depots (civic amenity sites).

    Two civic amenity sites were run by the East Lothian Council, 3 by the City of Edinburgh.

    Theoretical possibilities to bring domestic WEEE to the workplace and to deliver WEEE to LEEP offices were not specifically publicised and therefore little used.
     
     

    Dismantling and recycling was performed at Mann UK Ltd.
    Annual yield

    of WEEE

    (per capita)

    		 The total weight of WEEE collected was 119,788 kilograms (90% workplace arisings, 10 % domestic appliances).

    This is equivalent to 0,18 kg per capita annually.
    Sub-Classes of WEEE Brown goods, domestic appliances, infomation technology, business machines, telecommunications equipment.

    Of the total yield of WEEE, the finance sector contributed 51%, manufacturing and construction 13%, local authorities and government 12% and education 11%. Only 7% were collected at civic amenity sites.
    Which WEEE collected by which System Brown goods and domestic appliances were mostly collected at civic amenity sites, all other product groups at the workplace.
    Geographical effects -
    Monitoring Weight of collected equipment was recorded at the recycler´s, Mann UK Ltd. Statistical data were created by product type (only to a limited extent), material type, volume and financial value.
    Reference LEEP, 1997.

     
     
     
     
    Country, region UK, Midhurst (since 10/95) UK, Worthing (since 10/95)
    Characteristics of the area 2.500 households 5.000 households
    Collection systems & Involved actors No costs for last owner
     
     

    Collection at central municipal depots (civic amenity sites)
     
     

    The trial did not aim to divert equipment from existing recovery routes.

    		 No costs for last owner
     
     

    Kerbside collection of small WEEE appliances in plastic bags.
     
     

    The trial did not aim to divert equipment from existing recovery routes.
    Annual yield of WEEE  (per capita) 1,2 kg (calculated from ~3 kg per household, average 2,5 persons per household) 0,03 kg (calculated from 0,08 kg per household, average 2,5 persons per household)
    Sub-Classes of WEEE all types of WEEE (more than 50% `general household equipmentA) small appliances only
    Which WEEE collected by which System Collection at central municipal depots. Kerbside collection of small WEEE appliances in plastic bags.
    Geographical effects The civic amenity site was chosen because it is unlikely to be used by anyone outside the catchment area. A civic amenity site that exists in the area was not included in the investigation because its catchment area is larger.
     
     

    Citizens in the test region were asked to inform the organisers by sending a card if they had brought WEEE to that site (but some may have failed to do so).
    Monitoring Registration of collected quantities (by weight). Registration of collected quantities (by weight).
    Reference ICER, 1996.

    [?Contents?]
    Annex III References

    AEA, 1997: Recovery of WEEE: Economic & Environmental impacts. - AEA Technology, Final Report, June 1997.

    AMT DER SALZBURGER LANDESREGIERUNG, 1998: Projekt EAG-Sammlung im Flachgau. - Preliminary Short Report, sent to Ökopol in a letter dated 30-04-1998.

    AMT DER STEIERMÄRKISCHEN LANDESREGIERUNG, 1996: Endbericht der wissenschaftlichen Begleitstudie, Modellversuch zur Sammlung, Demontage und Verwertung von Elektro- und Elektronikaltgeräten (EAG) im Bezirk Weiz. - Fachabteilung Abfallwirtschaft, Final Report, March 1996.

    ARGUS, 1996: Stand der Entsorgung von elektrischen und elektronischen Kleingeräten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. - Final Report of Research Project No. 103 10 603 for the Umweltbundesamt Berlin. - Arbeitsgruppe Umweltstatistik an der Technischen Univeristät Berlin ARGUS e.V. Berlin, April 1996.

    BRUNELLI, pers.comm.: Mr. Brunelli, Environmental Ministry of Italy, 13-03-1998.

    BUREAU B&G, 1993: Analysedocument Projekt Wit - en Bruingoed (Achtergrond-document), Rotterdam, May 1993.

    BUWAL, 1998: Bundesamt für Umwelt, Wald und Landschaft,. M. Tellenbach, pers. comm. 11-03-1998.

    CHRISTENSEN, pers. comm.: Mr. Christensen, Miljøstyrelsen, 12-05-1998.

    CREM, 1998: Sorteeranalyses kleine apparaten, Gemeente Hoogeveen. - Consultancy and Research for Environmental Management (CREM), Amsterdam, January 1998.

    FEEI, 1996: Comparison of Systems for Collection / Recycling / Disposal of End-of-life Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEEE), Economic Impact. - Fachverband der Elektro- und Elektronikindustrie, Vienna, July 1996.

    FEEI, 1998: Fachverband der Elektro- und Elektronikindustrie, Vienna, letter to Ökopol dated 07-05-1998.

    FREY & RETHMANN, pers. comm.: Mr. Frey (ZVEI) and Mr. Rethmann (European Committee of Manufacturers of Domestic Equipment - ceced), Frankfurt 26-03-1998.

    GRAU, pers. comm.: Peter Grau, Miljøstyrelsen Denmark, 13-02-1998.

    GUNGL, pers.comm.: Erich Gungl, Steiermärkische Landesregierung, 03-02-1998.

    ICER, 1996: Industry Council for Electronic Equipment Recycling: First findings from the ICER collection and recycling trial for domestic equipment.- ICER, November 1996.

    INFA, 1995: Erfassung von Elektro-Haushalts-Kleingeräten aus Haushalten mit verschiedenen Erfassungssystemen. - Institut für Abfall- und Abwasserwirtschaft GmbH (INFA) [commissioned by ZVEI].

    ISAH, 1997: Untersuchung von mülltonnengängigen Elektro-Kleingeräten auf ihre Schadstoffrelevanz. - H. Doedens and C. Cuhls, Institut für Siedlungswasser- wirtschaft und Abfalltechnik der Universität Hannover. In: VVV-Kommission, 1998.

    LEEP, 1997: Unplugging electrical and electronic waste. The findings of the LEEP collection trial. - Lothian & Edinburgh Environmental Partnership (LEEP) and The Electronics Manufacturers Equipment Recycling Group (EMERG), 1997.

    LÜTGE, 1998: Erste Ergebnisse der gebührenpflichtigen Elektroschrotterfassung in Hannover. - Presentation at the technical working group on WEEE, VVV-Kommission, 24-03-1998.

    LÜTGE, pers.comm.: Eberhard Lütge, Abfallwirtschaftsbetrieb Hannover, 13-03-1998 and 18-03-1998.

    MARTY, pers.comm.: Y. Marty, Alcatel Alstkom (FIEE), preliminary report by telefax, 13-03-1998.

    MONTEIL, 1996: Entsorgung von Elektronikschrott. - Presentation by M.B. Monteil: Vorstehertagung Luzern, April 1996.

    NGS, 1996: Elektronikschrott in Niedersachsen. - Niedersächsische Gesellschaft zur Endablagerung von Sonderabfall mbH, März 1996.

    ORGALIME, 1998: Presentation at the Meeting of the Ad Hoc Commission - Industry Waste Management Committee, 07-01-1998.

    PLOOS VAN AMSTEL et al., 1997: Ploos van Amstel, J.J.A; Bakkers, F.T.P.G; Bassie, M.P.; Kersten, F.G.G.M.; Klompers L.F.C.M.; Ram, A.A.P.: Back to the beginning. National pilot project `apparetourA for collecting, recycling and repairing electrical and electronic equipement in the district of Eindhoven. - Ploos van Amstel Milieu Consulting B.V., September 1997.

    SALHOFER, pers.comm.: Stefan Salhofer, Universität für Bodenkultur, department for waste management, Vienna, 03-02-1998.

    SALHOFER & GABRIEL, 1996: Pilotsammlung von Elektroaltgeräten in Bregenz, Wissenschaftliche Begleitstudie. - Schriftenreihe der Sektion III, Bundes-ministerium für Umwelt, Jugend und Familie, Abfallwirtschaft, Vienna, 1996.

    SALHOFER & GABRIEL, 1997: Stand und Entwicklung bei der Sammlung und Verwertung von Elektroaltgeräten in Österreich.- Österreichische Wasser- und Abfallwirtschaft, 49, Heft 7/8, Springer Verlag, 1997.

    TELLENBACH, pers. comm: M. Tellenbach, BUWAL Switzerland, 11-03-1998.

    VEERMANN, pers.comm.: Kees Veermann, Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning an Environment, The Hague, 17-02-1998.

    VDMA (ed.): Elektronikschrott Entsorgung/Recycling, Frankfurt/M., 1993. - Cited in: VVV-Kommission, 1994.

    VVV-Kommission, 1994: Abschlußbericht des Arbeitskreises 13 `ElektronikschrottA. - 2. Regierungskommission der Niedersächsischen Landesregierung zur Vermeidung und Verwertung von Abfällen, Final Report, November 1994.

    VVV-Kommission, 1998: Abschlußbericht des Arbeitskreises 13 `ElektronikschrottA. - 3. Regierungskommission der Niedersächsischen Landesregierung zur Vermeidung und Verwertung von Abfällen, Final Report, January 1998.

    WESTIN, pers.comm.: Erik Westin, Swedish EPA , 11-02-1998.

    WIDE, pers.comm: Anna-Maria Wide, Environmental Ministry of Sweden, 13-02-98 and 20-02-1998.

    ZVEI, 1993: Lösungskonzept der deutschen Elektronikindustrie für die Verwertung und Entsorgung elektrotechnischer und elektrischer Geräte, Frankfurt/Main.

    ZVEI, 1998: Abschätzung des Gerätevolumens (1996), das durch die IT-Altgeräteverordnung (Stand 30.4.97) abgedeckt würde. - Telefax by Mr. Frey (ZVEI), 25-02-1998.

    [?Contents?]




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