EC Food Safety Strategy & EC Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) by

1. EC Food Safety Strategy & EC Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) by Philippe Bergeron Director Regional Institute of Environmental Technology

2. Part 1 EC Food Safety Strategy

3. EC Food Safety Strategy EC major priority to re-establish consumer confidence in the European food supplyafter Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and M&F diseases • Safe food • From “farm to table” • Correctly regulated • Effectively controlled

4. Strategy Key Elements (a) • Rights of consumers to safe food and to accurate and honest information • Integrated approach from the farm to the final consumer • Principle of independent, objective and transparent risk analysis (assessment, management & communication) based on best available science

5. Strategy Key Elements (b) • Precautionary principle option when scientific information is inconclusive or incomplete • Traceability of all food and feeds along the supply chain including foreign exporters in third countries • Provision of legal basis and operational principles for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

6. Basic Principles • Food law to provide high level of health protection • Only safe food to be placed on the market • Primary responsibility for safety with food businesses • Effective controls + enforcement • Traceability of food at least one step up and one step down the entire food and feed supply chain

7. Precautionary Principle - EEA Late Lessons from Early Warnings • Precautionary principle present in growing number of international agreements • Integrative part of any risk based strategy • Especially important in public health & environmental and food safety policy issues • Increasing source of disputes: unnecessary restraint (false positive) against excessive laxity (false negative)

8. Precautionary Principle - Fourteen Early Warnings Fisheries stock depletion, X-rays radiation, Benzene poisoning, Asbestos cancers, PCBs adverse health effects, Ozone depleting Halocarbons, DES Oestrogen to prevent miscarriage, Antimicrobials as animal growth promoter, SO2smog, MTBE lead substitute, US great lakes chemical contamination, Tributyltin (TBT) ship antifoulants, Hormones as growth promoters, BSE disease

9. Precautionary Principle - EEA Twelve Lessons for policy makers • 5 - Ensure that real world conditions are fully accounted for • 6 - Systematically scrutinise and justify the claimed “pros” and “cons” • 7 - Evaluate alternatives and promote robust, diverse, adaptable solutions • 8 - Use “lay” and local knowledge as well as relevant specialist expertise

10. International Obligation and Trade in Foods • Commitment to free trade in safe and wholesome foods • Commitment to WTO Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreements • Commitment to international technical standards that do not compromise Community treaty for high level of health protection

11. Part 2 Proposed EC Directives Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) & Restriction Of the use of certain Hazardous Substances (ROHS)

12. Existing EC Legislation on Specific Waste Streams • Directive on waste oils • Directive on PCB/PCT • Directive on packaging and packaging waste • Directive on sewage sludge • Directive on end of life vehicles

13. Draft Legislation on Specific Waste Streams • WEEE: Proposal • Batteries: Preparation of Proposal • Compost: Preliminary discussion

14. Main Problems with Current WEEE Management • Growing amount of WEEE • Important WEEE share of pollutants in municipal waste (some of it hazardous) • Underdeveloped Recycling • Diverging Member State legislation

15. Main Thrust of Proposed WEEE Legislation  Separate stream for collection, treatment and recovery of WEEE  Full application of the principle of producer responsibility  Elimination of problematic substances in new products

16. Importance of Producer Responsibility Better design - more cost effective recycling Example: Phone ‘X’ produced in SEA contains: 12 screws Phone ‘Y’ produced in the UK contains: 6 screws  time to dismantle first phone 3 minutes  time to dismantle second phone 1.5 minutes  dismantling viability X phone: economically not viable Y phone: economically viable

17. Consultation Process • Since 1994 • More than 150 bilateral and multilateral meetings with industry (90% of all meetings), environmental NGOs, local authorities, consumer groups and national experts and Commission services

18. Content of WEEE Proposal  Scope (households, commercial and industrial WEEE)  Separate collection, 4 kg/person/year in 2006 (Article 4)  Treatment (Article 5 + Annex II)  Recovery, recycling and recovery targets in 2006 (Article 6)  Financing of WEEE from private households (Article7)  Financing for other WEEE (Article 8)  Information for users (symbol Annex IV)

19. Recovery Targets

20. Financing Schemes: Private Household WEEE  Private holders: return free of charge  Producers responsible for costs of collection (from collection facilities), treatment, recovery and disposal Collective or individual systems Historical waste: contribution by all existing producers

21. Restriction of Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (ROHS)  Based on WEEE Article 95  Lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBB (polybrominated biphenyls) and PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ethers)  Substitution by 1. 1. 2008 (Article 4)  Lists of exemptions (Annex)  Review clause by 1. 1. 2004 to take into account, as necessary, new scientific evidence

22. Further Regulatory Process - WEEE • Proposals of the Commission (13 June 2000) COM 2000(347) • Co-decision procedure between European Parliament and Council (adoption foreseen mid 2002) • Implementation of the directive in the Member States (18 months after adoption)

23. THANK YOU Homepage http://www.riet.org E-mail bergeron@riet.org.sg