EC Food Safety Strategy

&

EC Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

by

Philippe BergeronDirector

Regional Institute of Environmental Technology

Part 1

EC Food Safety Strategy

EC major priority to re-establish consumer EC major priority to re-establish consumer confidence in the European food supply

after Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and M&F diseases

• Safe food

• From “farm to table”

• Correctly regulated

• Effectively controlled

EC Food Safety Strategy

• Rights of consumers to safe food and to accurate and honest information

• Integrated approach from the farm to the final consumer

• Principle of independent, objective and transparent risk analysis (assessment, management & communication) based on best available science

Strategy Key Elements (a)

• Precautionary principle option when scientific information is inconclusive or incomplete

• Traceability of all food and feeds along the supply chain including foreign exporters in third countries

• Provision of legal basis and operational principles for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

Strategy Key Elements (b)

• Food law to provide high level of health protection

• Only safe food to be placed on the market• Primary responsibility for safety with food

businesses• Effective controls + enforcement• Traceability of food at least one step up and

one step down the entire food and feed supply chain

Basic Principles

• Precautionary principle present in growing number of international agreements

• Integrative part of any risk based strategy• Especially important in public health &

environmental and food safety policy issues• Increasing source of disputes: unnecessary

restraint (false positive) against excessive laxity (false negative)

Precautionary Principle - EEA Late Lessons from Early Warnings

Fisheries stock depletion, X-rays radiation, Benzene poisoning, Asbestos cancers, PCBs adverse health effects, Ozone depleting Halocarbons, DES Oestrogen to prevent miscarriage, Antimicrobials as animal growth promoter, SO2 smog, MTBE lead substitute, US great lakes chemical contamination, Tributyltin (TBT) ship antifoulants, Hormones as growth promoters, BSE disease

Precautionary Principle - Fourteen Early Warnings

• 5 - Ensure that real world conditions are fully accounted for

• 6 - Systematically scrutinise and justify the claimed “pros” and “cons”

• 7 - Evaluate alternatives and promote robust, diverse, adaptable solutions

• 8 - Use “lay” and local knowledge as well as relevant specialist expertise

Precautionary Principle - EEA Twelve Lessons for policy makers

• Commitment to free trade in safe and wholesome foods

• Commitment to WTO Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreements

• Commitment to international technical standards that do not compromise Community treaty for high level of health protection

International Obligation and Trade in Foods

Part 2

Proposed EC Directives

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

& Restriction Of the use of certain Hazardous Substances (ROHS)

• Directive on waste oils

• Directive on PCB/PCT

• Directive on packaging and packaging

waste

• Directive on sewage sludge

• Directive on end of life vehicles

Existing EC Legislation on Specific Waste Streams

• WEEE: Proposal

• Batteries: Preparation of

Proposal

• Compost: Preliminary discussion

Draft Legislation on Specific Waste Streams

• Growing amount of WEEE

• Important WEEE share of pollutants in municipal waste (some of it hazardous)

• Underdeveloped Recycling

• Diverging Member State legislation

Main Problems with Current WEEE Management

Separate stream for collection, treatment and recovery of WEEE

Full application of the principle of producer responsibility

Elimination of problematic substances in new products

Main Thrust of Proposed WEEE Legislation

Better design - more cost effective recycling

Example:

Phone ‘X’ produced in SEA contains: 12 screws Phone ‘Y’ produced in the UK contains: 6 screws

time to dismantle first phone 3 minutes time to dismantle second phone 1.5 minutes

dismantling viabilityX phone: economically not viable Y phone: economically viable

Importance of Producer Responsibility

• Since 1994

• More than 150 bilateral and multilateral meetings with industry (90% of all meetings), environmental NGOs, local authorities, consumer groups and national experts and Commission services

Consultation Process

Scope (households, commercial and industrial WEEE) Separate collection, 4 kg/person/year in 2006 (Article 4) Treatment (Article 5 + Annex II) Recovery, recycling and recovery targets in 2006

(Article 6) Financing of WEEE from private households (Article7) Financing for other WEEE (Article 8) Information for users (symbol Annex IV)

Content of WEEE Proposal

Types of appliancesRecovery

(2006)

Re-use andrecyling(2006)

Large household appliances 80% 75%

Small household appliancesConsumer equipment (except TVs)Electrical and electronic toolsToys

60% 50%

IT & Telecoms equipment 75% 65%

Gas discharge lamps 80%

Cathode Ray Tubes containingequipments

75% 70%

Recovery Targets

Private holders: return free of charge

Producers responsible for costs of collection (from collection facilities), treatment, recovery and disposal

Collective or individual systems

Historical waste: contribution by all existing producers

Financing Schemes: Private Household WEEE

Based on WEEE Article 95 Lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent

chromium, PBB (polybrominated biphenyls) and PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ethers)

Substitution by 1. 1. 2008 (Article 4) Lists of exemptions (Annex) Review clause by 1. 1. 2004 to take into

account, as necessary, new scientific evidence

Restriction of Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (ROHS)

• Proposals of the Commission (13 June 2000) COM 2000(347)

• Co-decision procedure between European Parliament and Council (adoption foreseen mid 2002)

• Implementation of the directive in the Member States (18 months after adoption)

Further Regulatory Process - WEEE

Homepage

http://www.riet.org

E-mail

bergeron@riet.org.sg

THANK YOU