Design requirement on recyclability under the Ecodesign Directive. A possible synergy between waste and product policies on electric and electronic equipment?

Abstract: The newly released 'New Circular Economy Package' puts emphasis on resource efficiency through increased recycling, as well as ecodesign of products to accomplish it. The waste stream of electronic and electronic equipment (WEEE) is increasing and since these types of products contain valuable material the material contained in them should be recycled. The Synergy Approach’ employed in this thesis presents a way of strengthening the enforcement of the WEEE Directive through the creation of synergies with other policies, especially the Ecodesign Directive. In order to increase the recycling rates, resource efficient pre-processing treatment alternatives need to be made more economically competitive compared to alternatives reaping a lower recycling yield to a corresponding lower cost. Moreover, mechanical treatment options must also become more applicable, raising the productivity of the pre-processing and making the operations more profitable. Hence, the product policies on EEE should be aiming at enabling these two waste treatment approaches in order to create synergy and, through that, support increased recycling of WEEE. The RoHS Directive is regulating ten hazardous substances in EEE, which is facilitating the recycling. While the Ecodesign Directive ought to be able to set product requirements aiming at facilitating the recycling, through for example the choice of materials and the ease of dismantling, this has not been done with regards to the absolute majority of the regulated product categories. The main hindrances for setting these types of requirements consist in the fulfillment of the provisions in the Ecodesign Directive on significant environmental impact, potential for significant environmental benefit (due to uncertainties regarding how the waste treatment will look like) and measurability, as well as the possibility of ‘double-regulation’ with the WEEE Directive and the RoHS Directive. For the Ecodesign Directive to be able to set further recyclability requirements changes on a number of levels are required, especially in the process of developing the product-specific ecodesign requirements. Increasing EU policy focus on resource efficiency, the upcoming standardization process and the possibility of obtaining a clear definition of ‘double-regulation’ from the Commission are some of the identified enablers past the hindrances. However, the uncertain waste treatment remains an issue receiving limited attention in the analyzed judicial doctrine. Therefore, some strategies on how this uncertainty can be dealt with has been proposed, both within the context of the Ecodesign Directive as well as outside. The most efficient approach to create synergy, and to overcome the hindrance in the form of uncertain environmental benefit from the design requirement, seems to consist in regulation of the design features in the Ecodesign Directive, together with correlating regulation of the waste treatments in the WEEE Directive.