European Union Will Force Collection, Recycling of Appliances

Date: April 10, 2002

Source: News Room

The European Union Parliament has voted to force companies to pay for the collection and recycling of appliances and electronic products. The rules still must be approved by E.U. governments and are scheduled to be phased in by 2006. Cleaning up old equipment will cost around EUR40 billion, while disposing of new equipment will cost an annual EUR7.5 billion, according to industry estimates. Another EUR15 billion will be necessary to install environment-friendly production techniques. The European Union Commission estimates old appliances account for some 6 million tons of waste across Europe, and expects quantities to double over the next decade.

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