Premium
The European Commission (EC) decided on Thursday to send notice of default letters to Estonia and Romania on deficiencies in the transposition of the EU rules on waste of electrical and electronic equipment (Directive 2012/19 / EU -WEE), a press release of the community Executive shows.
Waste electrical and electronic equipment, such as computers, TVs, refrigerators and mobile phones represent the fastest growing waste stream in the EU and is expected to grow to more than 12 million tonnes by 2020.
Unless managed properly, these wastes can cause major health and environmental problems because of their hazardous content. Estonia is being sent a letter due to deficiencies including incomplete definitions of key terms, lack of clarity regarding the the obligations of producers, as well as failure to provide evidence of where waste electrical and electronic equipment is exported to countries outside the EU.
The Commission is sending a notice of default letter to Romania due to inaccurate provisions and incomplete reflection of the EU legislation, inconsistencies with regard to collection centers and the absence of a specific provision requiring that all waste electrical and electronic equipment collected separately be treated appropriately.
Estonia and Romania have two months to answer; otherwise, the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.
