To help even further for the phase-out of hazardous substances, CECED, DIGITALEUROPE and the WEEE forum will be launching an Information for Recyclers (I4R) common platform on January, 26th. This was the way CECED’s Director-General, Paolo Falcioni addressed “one of the big elephants of the room” [hazardous substances] during the third annual Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference, organised by the European Commission on 21-22 February 2018. The new #I4R website will allow recyclers to access information about the presence of hazardous substances in products and is fully in line with the request of Article 15 of the Directive 2012/19/EU on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) to provide information free of charge about preparation for re-use and treatment for each type of EEE placed on the market.
Speaking during the “Chemicals-Producs-Waste Interface: Achieving Non-Toxic Material Flows” breakout session, Paolo Falcioni also invited the participants and the audience to have a read to the first of its kind study devoted to the material flows of the home appliance sector - http://www.materialflows.eu/ In 2016, home appliances waste generation was estimated at 5 Mt, which equals nearly 4 Mt of materials being collected across the EU. However, the degree of material recovery is only known for part of this total, the 1,7 Mt being officially reported and handled by industry. "We are opening our books because the only way to tackle the problem is to share information", he noted.
The presented goal of CECED’s Circular Society initiative (www.circularculture.eu) that aims at bringing together different business circularity projects was also very much in line with the Commission’s First Vice-President Timmermans speech. "The circular economy is about more than the economy, it's more about more than just plastics. It's about creating a positive attitude to the future, it's about creating a sense that our future can be more prosperous, that there is a place for everyone in the circular economy. If Europe leads in this, Europe will also be the first who profits from this.", Timmermans emphasised. In the same spirit, Commissioner Bieńkowska reminded that all stakeholders now have the opportunity to involve, engage, debate and moreover, “be active”.
Follow more from the discussion by using #CEstakeholderEU and on the website of the event.