Central to the principle of producer responsibility is to ensure that a consumer can return end of life electrical and electronic products (e-waste) at no cost for recycling. It is essential that the producers be central to any legislation or plan as they will fund their market share of the appropriate environmental management and treatment of e-waste.
All parties and stakeholders, (local and global producers, importer, retailer, distributor, operator, consumer, refurbisher, recycler, government etc.) should play their part in the establishment of a sustainable solution for e-waste. This will help avoid ‘free riders’ and will result in long-term environmental and societal benefits.
A sustainable solution should ensure a level playing field between all actors in the value chain and encourage healthy competition within the e-waste recycling sector. There is a need to regulate the recycling activities but it should not create trader barriers, discriminate against organisations, companies or products.
Projects:
