New data on WEEE collection in Italy. A positive sign across all categories, even if some doubts remain about the “one for zero” rule.
Iron, copper, aluminium, plastic. Thousands of tonnes of recovered raw materials, in addition to CO2 emissions avoided. This is the result of efficient WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) collection. And the latest data released confirm it: household appliance collection is growing, recording an increase of 3.3 per cent across the entire national territory.
The announcement was made by Consorzio Ecodom, which operates in Italy in the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment, reporting a quantity of approximately 74,800 tonnes of recovered waste. The collection enabled "the recycling of more than 47,000 tonnes of iron, around 1,700 tonnes of aluminium, more than 1,600 tonnes of copper and 8,000 tonnes of plastic, preventing the release into the atmosphere of more than 870,000 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed in one year by a forest as large as the province of Rimini", the Consorzio writes in a statement.
"The increase in the quantity of WEEE managed by the Consorzio in 2015 is certainly a positive development, because the treatment methods used by selected suppliers meet the highest environmental standards at European level," said Giorgio Arienti, general director of Ecodom. "We must never forget, however, that in our country more than two thirds of the WEEE generated by citizens is unaccounted for: this waste is, in all likelihood, intercepted by parties interested only in maximising their own profits, with no regard for the consequences that incorrect recycling has on the environment."
A positive sign in electrical waste collection is also recorded by Erp Italia, the Italian branch of the European system that takes responsibility for the compliant management of WEEE, Rpa (waste batteries and accumulators) and waste from photovoltaic panels across the entire national territory.
During 2015, the system treated 26,759 tonnes of WEEE, an increase of 7 per cent compared to the volumes managed in 2014. The groupings that include washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers and microwave ovens grew by 19 per cent, while for the grouping covering waste from printers, PCs, small household appliances, electric and electronic toys and consumer electronics in general, the annual increase was as much as 27 per cent. The figure for portable batteries is very good: 1,308.02 tonnes, representing a +11 per cent compared to the 2014 figure.
The fact remains that one of the rules that was supposed to encourage and make it easier for citizens to hand in small household appliances still needs to be finalised, even though it has already been submitted to the Council of State. This is the "one for zero" rule, which obliges all large retail outlets to collect small electronic appliances handed in by customers free of charge, without requiring them to make a purchase. "This 'stop and go' will nonetheless allow us to arrive swiftly at the finalisation of a genuinely effective decree to promote the collection and correct management of electronic waste," explained Davide Rossi, general director of Aires (Associazione italiana retailer elettrodomestici specializzati) — which brings together specialist companies and distribution groups in household appliances and consumer electronics —, and therefore among those directly affected by the rule. "We have always been attentive to environmental issues and are ready to play our part, but we must be able to count on a regulatory framework that is logical and consistent with the needs of a world moving ever faster."