The European Commission on Wednesday proposed new rules on the collection and recycling of electrical and electronic equipment and on the restriction of certain hazardous substances in such devices.

The new rules sets a new binding target for the collection of electrical and electronic equipment as the current collection target of 4 kg per person per year does not properly reflect the situation in individual member states, said the commission.

The commission proposes to differentiate the targets by setting mandatory collection targets equal to 65 percent of the average weight of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market over the two previous years in each member state.

The recycling and recovery targets of such equipment now include the re-use of whole appliances, and weight-base targets will increase by 5 percent. It is also proposed to set targets for the recovery of medical devices.

Current legislation has been in force since 2004 but there is room for further improvement. However, the rules are proven to be difficult to implement.

Today only about a third of electrical and electronic waste is treated in line with these laws and the other two-thirds is going to landfill and potentially to sub-standard treatment sites in or outside the EU, posing major environmental and health risks.

"As modern society increasingly relies on electrical and electronic equipment it is very important that they have as little impact on the environment as possible. Making sure that certain hazardous substances do not find their way into these products and that they are properly collected and recycled when no longer used is absolutely vital," said EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2008)