EU Agrees To Recycling Fees For Manufacturers

Date: October 10, 2002

Source: News Room

European manufacturers will have to pay for recycling electrical goods, from refrigerators to laptop computers, under an agreement reached recently by negotiators from European Union governments and the EU's parliament. The EU estimates that old appliances account for about 6 million tons of waste across Europe, most of which currently goes into landfills. Under the new rules due to be phased in by 2006, the EU hopes up to 75 percent of goods such as toasters and washing machines can be recycled. Industry officials warned that the new rules will cost at least $7.4 billion a year.

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