Status quo & issue
- The collection targets for waste portable batteries and waste electrical and electronic equipment in the EU are often not achieved..
- Waste electrical and electronic equipment can contain toxic elements such as lead or cadmium that may be released into the environment if the waste equipment is not, or inadequately, recycled.
- The collection targets stipulated for waste portable batteries and waste electrical and electronic equipment in the EU need to be achieved as a minimum, or even exceeded, in order to ensure a circular economy.
Objective & possible solution
Different incentive schemes will be developed by participants that will be tested and then evaluated as part of the project.
The results will be submitted to policymakers of the EU and its Member States, in order to be able to implement improvements based on the knowledge gained.
The “Enhancing (the) collection of small waste of electrical and electronic equipment and batteries” project aims to identify and try out various incentive schemes to increase the collecting rates of waste electrical and electronic equipment as well as spent portable batteries.
Implementation strategy
The collection targets for waste portable batteries and electrical waste are often not achieved in the EU. Waste electrical and electronic equipment can contain toxic elements such as lead or cadmium that may be released into the environment if the waste equipment is not, or inadequately, recycled. At the same time, waste electrical and electronic equipment as well as spent batteries contain raw materials that are deemed critical in the EU. A successful recycling programme can reduce the amount of primary raw materials used.
This project aims to develop and implement pilot projects, in order to test different collection strategies. By analysing the effectiveness of the pilot projects in question, recommendations can be made to policymakers of the Member States as well as at an EU level.
The collection targets for portable batteries and waste electrical and electronic equipment must be adhered to or exceeded to ensure that the circle economy works throughout the EU.
