The WEEE DirectiveIndividual versus Collective ResponsibilityAthough these terms have not been well defined,the distinction between individual and collectiveresponsibility for taking back products at end oflife and managing them in accordance with thedirective hinges on whether the end-of-life manage-ment system rewards companies that “do the rightthing” by designing products that are morereusable/recyclable. For example, with individualresponsibility, a company pays to manage its ownproducts and therefore benefits from implementingdesign changes that call for the use of recyclablematerials or that increase ease of disassembly. Withcollective responsibility, companies share the costsof managing end-of-life products based on marketshare, and therefore do not benefit from such designchanges. End-of-life management based on individ-ual responsibility generally entails sorting or track-ing waste products by brand, which can be costly.The WEEE directive allows collective responsibilityfor “historical” waste (i.e., products put on themarket before August 13, 2005), since designincentives are irrelevant for products already onthe market. However, the directive requires indi-vidual producer responsibility for electrical andelectronic equipment put on the market afterAugust 13, 2005. Environmentalists and somecompanies (led by Electrolux and Hewlett-Packard) pushed for this provision so that incentiveswould be provided for environmental productdesign. The European Environmental Bureau hails itas setting a precedent for future policy. The directive allows individual responsibility to beimplemented through individual or collective systems.Under an individual system, a company establishesits own take-back program for its own products.How individual responsibility could be implementedin a collective system is unclear. The challenge isto arrive at a fee structure that reflects the actualcost of recycling a specific product. Such systemshave been developed for packaging by basing feeson weight and material composition. However, thiswould be far more difficult for complex electricaland electronic products, which may contain hundredsof different types of materials.Outstanding Issues and Key Points The WEEE Directive makes industry responsible,at a minimum, for picking up waste electrical andelectronic equipment from collection points, ratherthan from individual households. This means thatgovernment may pay for the transport of waste tothe collection points, with the costs determined bythe number of collection points established and theamount of sorting that is done. The directive does notimpose specific requirements regarding these issues,so there will probably be different interpretations bythe different member states. As a result, the proportionof collection costs allocated to government and indus-try will differ from country to country. Some memberstates may hold producers responsible for the totalcosts of collection from individual households. The directive’s mandated reuse/recycling andrecovery targets are based on the amounts of electricaland electronic products separately collected byweight. However, there are no collection targets byTHE WEEE AND RoHS DIRECTIVES:Highlights and AnalysisStrategies for a better environment120 Wall Street, 14th FloorNew York, NY 10005-4001212 361-2400 Fax 212 361-2412www.informinc.orgINFORM is a national nonprofit organization that identifies practical ways of living and doing business that are environmentally sustainable.WEEE and RoHS: Highlights and Analysis ©INFORM, Inc., July 2003 — Page 1The RoHS Directive Lead and Brominated Flame RetardantsThe RoHS Directive is already having a majorimpact on the design of electrical and electronicproducts as industry invests in finding alternativesto key substances such as lead and brominatedflame retardants. But there is continuing debate onthe environmental impact of the banned sub-stances, along with pressure for more exemptions.Lead is a substance of concern around the world.According to Intel, 90 percent of electronic com-ponents contain lead, mainly lead solder. Findingalternatives to lead solder is a massive undertakingbecause of product reliability, component compati-bility, energy use, and cost issues.Brominated flame retardants are also ubiquitous inelectronic products and are used primarily in printedwiring boards, plastic housings, and cables. Theproduct type, and it is possible that the target of 4kg (8.8 lbs) per person per year will be met withoutsome types of products being collected at all. Forexample, the recycling target of 65 percent for cellphones will be meaningless if a significant quantityof these products, which weigh relatively little, failto be collected. The reuse/recycling and recoverytargets are to be revised in December 2008, afterwhich they may be based on the amount of specificproducts on the market rather than the amount ofelectrical and electronic waste separately collected. The outcome of a debate over whether to banelectrical and electronic equipment from municipalwaste was a compromise: rather than require a ban,soft language is used that calls for minimizing the dis-posal of these products as unsorted municipal waste.  “Clever chips” that prevent reuse/recycling arebanned. For example, ink-jet cartridges pro-grammed to self-destruct so they cannot be refilledmay not be sold or distributed. There is an overlap period during which producersmust provide a financial guarantee that the wastemanagement costs of new products put on the marketwill be paid for, while they may also impose a “visi-ble fee” (one that is explicitly designated, perhapson the price tag) to cover the waste managementcosts of historical products. Some products maytherefore bear a double financial burden for wastemanagement during this period. The visible feewill phase out in 2013 for large appliances and in2011 for all other electrical and electronic equipment. Take-back must always be free to the end user. New products must be labeled with the name ofthe producer. WEEE Directive: Key DatesINFORM is a national nonprofit organization that identifies practical ways of living and doing business that are environmentally sustainable.WEEE and RoHS: Highlights and Analysis ©INFORM, Inc., July 2003 — Page 2February 13,2003WEEE Directive goes intoeffect.August 13,2004Member states enactimplementing legislation/regulations/administrativeactions.August 13,2005Producers