EUREFAS answer to consultation on Waste Shipment Regulation

The European Union's strategy to accelerate its circular economy agenda is fundamentally tied to its ability to manage, save and recover valuable resources, particularly those found in used Electrical and Electronic Equipment (UEEE), fueling a local refurbishment market. While the Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) is crucial for ensuring environmentally sound waste management, its potential application to UEEE can hinder the refurbishment sector. Given that refurbishment operates at the intra-EU level and requires supply flows from other Member States, applying burdensome rules such stifle this vital and environmentally responsible economic activity.

EUREFAS reiterates the need to clarify the grey regulatory zone that used electronics fall into. Without clarification of their status, UEEE risks falling under waste regulations, causing disproportionate administrative burden, higher costs, inconsistent interpretation among Member States, and reduced competitiveness for legitimate refurbishment businesses.

To provide more clarity on the category of UEEE, EUREFAS recommends the following measures:

1. Establishing end-of-waste criteria to create certainty around shipment

The regulatory framework must reflect a crucial distinction: UEEE is a valuable resource, not a predetermined waste stream. Indeed, the prevailing approach to discarded EEE requires a fundamental rethink. Rather than being viewed as an inherent waste stream, UEEE must be classified as a high-value resource that holds potential for the circular economy. With an estimated 82 billion kg of e-waste projected to be generated by 2030, we can unlock the embedded value of these products, prevent the loss of critical raw materials, and reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing new devices through reuse. In order to do so, UEEE must be first assessed at the collection point to sort and qualify items for reuse before any are deemed as waste. This assessment must cover products, as well as their internal components, even if the overall product is non-functional or not suitable for immediate reuse.

This approach prevents the premature destruction of functional products and facilitates the flow of high-value goods back into the market.

By assessing products on their capacity for reuse before designating them as waste, the framework can both safeguard functional EEE from unnecessary disposal and avoid the disproportionate application of the Waste Shipment Regulation to goods destined for second life. This approach would facilitate the continued circulation of EEE which is crucial for a growing economic force within the EU’s internal market, driven by the increasing demand for more sustainable and affordable products such as refurbished devices.

2. Streamlining shipment procedures

The European Commission has rightly identified simplification as a key goal for enhancing EU competitiveness. In this context, the current intra-EU shipment of UEEE must be streamlined. Current regulations, designed for waste, create significant administrative and logistical barriers that directly impede intra-EU flows that are essential for a thriving refurbishment sector : This excessive paperwork often takes the form of multiple, lengthy prior notification procedures and complex financial guarantees, resulting in high administrative and compliance costs for businesses, alongside increased logistics and transportation overheads.

EUREFAS proposes creating specific and simplified guidelines that reduce logistical friction and ensure that transport remains economically viable for businesses, particularly for SMEs. The refurbishment sector would immensely benefit from a tailored legal framework that removes disproportionate burdens and provides the legal certainty necessary to scale up refurbishment operations and further an EU circular economy.

Conclusion

The recalibration of the WSR is the pathway to align the waste regulatory framework with the EU Circular Economy agenda and to push for resource efficiency. Ensuring a competitive and efficient circular economy necessitates a review of the current framework of end-of-waste status and waste shipment procedures. Ultimately, procedures must be adapted to cover materials intended for reuse and refurbishment and not only for recycling.