Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-12-17-Speech-2-307"
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"en.20021217.11.2-307"2
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"Madam President, I would also like to thank the Conciliation Committee for its constructive work. It has been a very good success for Parliament and indeed for the European citizens.
Waste from electronic and electrical equipment is now one of the fastest growing waste streams in the European Union. As the Commissioner has said, it constitutes almost 14 kilograms per head and is growing by at least 3% to 5% every year. Electronic and electrical equipment is one of the largest known sources of heavy metals and organic pollutants in the waste stream. Without proper pre-treatment the highly toxic components can contaminate soil and ground water, as well as polluting the air.
The directive can be seen as one of the basic instruments for an integrated product policy, where the whole life cycle of a product will be taken into consideration and eco-design can be promoted. The need for business to adapt to a changing agenda, taking more account of environmental concerns, is becoming more widely accepted. Indeed business and the environmental NGOs have been on the same wavelength during this process, which is not always the case.
It is also accepted that countries and industries which innovate more quickly will end up being more competitive than those which delay. The adoption of this directive will be a signal in that regard.
The guiding principle behind the directive is the extent of producers' responsibility. The objective of the EPR is to make producers financially responsible for their products when these become waste so an upstream effect is created which leads to design for the environment, taking account of the durability, repairability or upgrading, disassembly or recycling of the product. In addition there is reuse of resources and separate collection, and hazardous substances contained in the WEEE are prevented from entering the environment.
The directive also applies the principle of internalisation of external costs. Costs of disposal, which up to now have been borne by local authorities, usually as part of waste disposal, are now to be internalised and provision made for the reuse, recycling and demanufacture of this equipment. Hence the ultimate aim is waste prevention, thus sustainability."@en1
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