EU proposes hefty fine on Germany for not enacting e-waste recycling rules

BERLIN (Scrap Monster): The European Commission has taken Germany to the European Court of Justice for failing to enact the EU legislation on e-waste recycling. It noted that Germany has failed to put in place the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive as a national law. The EU member countries were supposed to implement the e-waste legislation before February last year.

The new WEEE Directive comprises of enhanced provisions with regards to disposal of electronic and electrical waste. According to the Commission, Germany has not taken necessary actions to implement the changed rules. It noted that negligence to the revised directives will exacerbate the growing e-waste menace in the region. As per estimates, the e-waste which totaled around 9 million tonnes in 2005 is expected to touch 12 million tonnes by 2020.

The Commission urged the Court to impose a penalty payment of €210,078 (£149,764) per day until it complies with the new WEEE Directive.

A recent study conducted by UN agency had stated that the global e-waste reached 41.8 million tonnes in 2014. The report identified the US and China as the major contributors to worldwide e-waste stream, closely followed by the EU region. The US and China accounted for 32% of the global e-waste.