Consumer electronics, recycling collection

Because of the hazardous contents of these items and other electronic waste, they can cause health and environmental problems if not managed properly. Therefore, to address these problems the RoHS and WEEE Directives were put in place. The first WEEE Directive was enforced in Eebmary 2003. It provided collection plans, where consumers could return their electronic and electrical wastes free of charge. These plans aimed to increase the recycling and /or reuse of electronic equipment (that had been discarded). 

Until recently 96% of all discarded electrical and electronic equipment in Europe was landfilled. This amounted to about 14 kg of equipment per inhabitant every year, and the practice is now to be banned. All post-consumer electrical and electronic products will have to be collected and subjected to specific disposal procedures. The WEEE Directive (2002/96/EC) (February 2003) requires the manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment appliances to bear the cost of recovery and recycling. It is intended to ensure the recovery of 300,000 tonnes of electrical and electronic plastics waste material per year by 2006, the date by which each member state should be collecting 4 kg per inhabitant by separate collection procedures. 

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