Cyprus: Transposition of WEEE Recast

With some delay, Cyprus has transposed the WEEE Recast Directive 2012/19/EU into national legislation: The Waste (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulation 73/2015 was officially published on March 13, 2015. Based on the new WEEE Regulation, Cyprus has implemented the following: – New producer definition, including direct sales to B2C and B2B end-users – Authorized representative requirement – 0:1 take-back obligation for small EEE for retailers with a sales area for EEE of more than 400m² – Minimum requirements for shipment of used EEE/WEEE – New WEEE categories applicable from August 15, 2018 – New collection target

1cc präsentiert auf dem E-Waste World Summit 2015 in Shanghai

Vom 15. – 17. April 2015 findet in Shanghai, China, der “3rd e-Waste World Summit 2015“ statt. Auf dieser Recycling-Konferenz für elektronische Geräte wird 1cc Beraterin Yun Zhang aus unserem Shanghaier Büro am 16. April 2015 zum Thema „WEEE Compliance and Recast in Europe“ vortragen. Wir freuen uns, Sie auf der Konferenz zu treffen. Weitere Informationen: www.e-wasteworld.com

Handel muss Elektro-Altgeräte kostenlos zurücknehmen

Verbraucher werden zukünftig ihre alten Elektro-Altgeräte wie Laptops, Radios oder Staubsauger kostenlos in Elektrogeschäften zurückgeben können, wenn sie dort ein neues, vergleichbares Gerät kaufen. Kleinere Elektro-Altgeräte dürfen in Zukunft auch ohne Neukauf abgegeben werden. Letztere Regelung wird jedoch nur für größere Händler mit einer Verkaufsfläche von mehr als 400 Quadratmetern gelten, außerdem für größere Online-Händler. Die neuen Rücknahmeverpflichtungen werden durch die Reform des deutschen Elektrogesetzes (ElektroG) geregelt, das Ende dieses Jahres in Kraft treten soll. Damit werden die Änderungen der WEEE Richtlinie 2012/19/EU über Elektro- und Elektronikaltgeräte (WEEE Recast Directive) umgesetzt, die 2012 in Kraft trat. Wie weitere EU-Mitgliedsstaaten auch, ist Deutschland mit der Umsetzung im Verzug, denn diese hätte eigentlich bis zum 14. Februar 2014 erfolgen sollen. Neben den verschärften Rücknahmeverpflichtungen für den Handel, sieht die WEEE-Richtlinie ab nächstem Jahr neue Sammelquoten für Elektroschrott vor, die 2019 nochmals verschärft werden. Die Sammelquote soll dann bei 65 Prozent liegen. Außerdem wird der Anwendungsbereich ab 2018 auf alle Elektro- und Elektronikgeräte erweitert.

Spain: National Transposition of WEEE Recast

Spain was one of the EU member states which were delayed in transposing the EU WEEE Recast: Finally, on last Saturday, February 21, 2015, “Real Decreto 110/2015, sobre residuos de aparatos eléctricos y electrónicos” (Royal Decree 110/2015) was officially published in the Spanish Official Gazette. With this Decree, Spain has finally transposed the WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU into national law. A deeper analysis of the new Spanish Decree will show which are the national specifications and changes. We will provide you soon with more information.

WEEE Recast Directive 2012/19/EU: Some states are still missing

EU Member States have to adopt national laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the new Directive 2012/19/EU of 4 July 2012 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE Recast Directive). The deadline for transposition was 14 February 2014. Today, one year after that day, only 20 of the states have adopted the necessary legal provisions. In Belgium only one of the three regions, namely Flanders, has transposed the Recast. Cyprus, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Spain only have drafts available. In Slovenia not even a draft has been published yet.

1cc präsentiert auf dem IERC Kongress in Salzburg

Vom 21. – 23.01.2015 findet in Salzburg der „14. International Electronics Recycling Congress” (IERC) statt. Auf dieser internationalen Plattform werden die neuesten Entwicklungen und Herausforderungen zum Thema WEEE weltweit diskutiert. Sowohl die 1cc als auch die 1cc-Tochter WEEElogic werden in Salzburg mit einem Expertenvortrag vertreten sein. Datum: 21. Januar 2015, 16.30 – 17.00 Uhr Thema: “Who owns the waste – Makes the profit? Producer responsibility – Time for an overdue paradigm shift?” Referent: Michael Krug, 1cc Raum: Europe Datum: 22. Januar 2015, 11.00 – 12.00 Uhr Thema: “Towards harmonisation – Private European initiative filling the gap of WEEE2” Referenten: Meike Ruoff and Romain Letenneur, WEEElogic GmbH Raum: Mozart Weitere Informationen: www.icm.ch/ierc-2015

Copyright Levies: Cascade of levy system abolishments to be expected?

While some countries around the world have created or expanded on their existing copyright levy systems, another European country has abolished its system as of January 1, 2015: Finland repealed the legal basis of the copyright levies on blank media & recording devices. Instead, the authors will be compensated via a fund paid out of the state budget. After the Finnish levy tariffs have remained unchanged for the last two years, the parliament voted in December to replace the Copyright Levy system by a government fund. From now on, no copyright levies should be paid anymore in Finland. In 2012 the Spanish Government decided to abolish its copyright levy system, establishing and replacing it by a different one, comparable to the Norwegian system, where levies are calculated into the state budget. In Estonia, a similar system is now in the planning phase. Basically, device- and media-based copyright levy systems are a matter of fervent controversies in all countries in which they are implemented. Nevertheless, their abolishment can be considered critical: The question of (the estimated) harm for right holders caused by private copying remains and, with it, the question of its compensation. A state budget being nothing but tax revenue, every author would rely on government aid. In fact, the harm is to be taken into account and, in the absence of a copyright levy system, he will simply be financed from other sources. The authorities will raise their claims elsewhere. Does it have anything to do with the fact that the Spanish authority tried to claim excessive fees for licensing recently? It seems as if the controversy just shifted somewhere else.

WEEE Regulations in UK – Classification of Dual Use Equipment will Change

Following the new WEEE Regulations in UK, beginning with January 1, 2016, any electrical and electronic equipment which can be used by both households as well as business users (‘dual use’) has to be classified as household equipment (B2C). For producers whose electrical and electronic equipment is re-classified as B2C this means: • Producers will have to provide the sales data in accordance with the new classifications beginning with January 1, 2015. This is required in order to calculate the obligations for 2016. • Since the invoicing for the volumes put on the market in 2015 takes place in 2016, producers might have to face an additional B2C financial obligation up from January 2016. • Producers need to change registration with the Environment Agency. This has to be done prior to the data submission for the first quarter of 2015.

Six new SVHCs added to the REACH Candidate List and one entry updated

REACH: Today, six new SVHCs have been added to the REACH Candidate List by ECHA; and one existing entry has been updated. Cadmium fluoride and cadmium sulphate are added to the Candidate List as being “Carcinogenic”, “Mutagenic”, “Toxic for reproduction” and are also identified as being of „Equivalent level of concern based on probable serious effects to human health“ (specifically due to the effects on kidney and bone). Two benzotriazole substances (UV-320 and UV-328) are identified as being “persistent bioaccumulative and toxic and very persistent and very bioaccumulative (PBT/vPvB)”. Two further substances, DOTE and the reaction mass of DOTE and MOTE are identified as being “Toxic for reproduction”. The Member State Committee also unanimously agreed that bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) meets the criteria for identification as an SVHC under Article 57(f) due to its endocrine disrupting properties causing probable serious effects to the environment. As DEHP is already included in the Candidate List based on its toxic for reproduction properties, this entry will be updated to address the additional reason for inclusion. As DEHP is already listed in the Authorisation List (Annex XIV), companies that were initially exempt from the authorisation requirement may, in the future, be subject to authorisation. However, before this could happen, the European Commission would need to amend the corresponding entry for DEHP in the Authorisation List.

Austria: Copyright Levies System still under Discussion

Although an official bill amending the Austrian Copyright Act has been presented to the Parliament at the end of November, the design of the current copyright levies system is still unclear: The new bill does not include the awaited updates, i. e. it does not include hard disks and further IT-equipment to be levied. The first draft of the law contained this information. It may seem as if the plans of a reform of the copyright levies have been abolished, but this is not the case. The collecting societies as well as industry associations inform that the debate is still ongoing. This means, that discussions are likely to resume in a couple of months. The delay of the expected amendments might be caused by the public protests and resistance for this strongly debated topic. There were many campaigns leaded by the electronics industry to stop the plans to update the levy system.