Information for recyclers about substances in e-waste
In an attempt to respond to recyclers’ quest for information about the presence of materials and components in e-waste that require separate treatment, producers and producer responsibility organisations teamed up to create “Information for Recyclers – I4R”, a unique one-stop source platform aimed at providing a whole range of information and guidance on how to handle WEEE.
The I4R platform allows to better inform managers in the recycling and preparing for re-use industry and to train workers on safety issues. By providing information at product group level, I4R helps recyclers to optimise sorting where applicable. In addition it allows e-waste recyclers and preparing for re-use organisations to access information about the presence and location of materials and components that need separate treatment.
I4R not only creates added value for recyclers and the industry, but also for citizens. It is a textbook example of industries teaming up to contribute to the creation of a Circular Society, this time by supporting recycling and secondary raw material recovery.
Article 15 of Directive 2012/19/EU on WEEE requires producers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) to provide information free of charge about preparation for re-use and treatment for each type of EEE placed on the market. In 2005 APPLiA (formerly known as CECED) and DIGITALEUROPE, speaking for manufacturers of home appliances and ICT and consumer electronics, and the electronics recyclers at EERA reached an agreement on the format of this information. Since then, manufacturers have been collecting the information in a harmonized reporting format for each product on their website.
DIGITALEUROPE and APPLiA, jointly with the WEEE Forum, launched this common online platform. The WEEE Forum hosts and maintains the platform.