The Environment Committee at the European Parliament votes favorably to the proposal concerning changes to the current waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) Directive. According to MEPs, EU Member States should be obliged to collect and recycle more discarded fridges, phones and other e-waste. In addition, MEPs want to make easier for consumers to return small products and harder for unscrupulous operators to ship e-waste illegally out of the EU.

The Environment Committee approved the proposal concerning changes to the current waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) Directive. According to the changes, EU Member States should be obliged to collect and recycle more discarded fridges, phones and other e-waste. They also proposed achievable targets that will help recover valuable raw materials and cut the flow of e-waste to landfills, incinerators and developing countries. With regard to the targets, MEPs stressed that targets should be based on actual e-waste generated, with 85% to be collected by 2016. Council supports a 65% target based on goods going on sale, to be phased in to most EU countries by 2020 and the remainder by 2022. A flat-rate annual target of 4kg per person is currently applied. The proposal was initiated by the European Parliament in February 2011.

In addition, the Environment Committee confirms that large amounts of the EU's e-waste are being illegally exported to countries, notably in Asia and Africa, where processing may fail to respect workers' health and the environment. Europol already identified during summer time an increase of this illegal waste. MEPs therefore want to shift the burden of proof to exporters to ensure their shipments to non-OECD countries contain only reusable goods, and no waste.

MEPs are also concerned about the costs of e-waste. They underlined that producers and consumers should bear the costs of e-waste, not the general taxpayer. But more should be done to cut out unnecessary administrative burdens and costs faced by companies. For example, distance sellers should be able to report data to a central EU system, to avoid the extra red tape and expense of signing up for multiple national registers.