The remains of old electrical and electronic appliances keep piling up. EU recycling efforts vary widely, but new laws are trying to confront the challenge.

Flashback: Don't throw out your electronic waste!

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The remains of old electrical  and electronic appliances keep piling up.

They're bad for health  and waste resources.

EU recycling efforts vary widely,  but new laws aim to confront the challenge.

It's become a pressing issue -  electronic and electric waste,

from any appliance,  any device with a cord and a plug

The waste's bad for health  and for the environment.

Not only that, these products use up  precious and rare mineral resources.

With the communication revolution, more  mobiles and computers are being bought.

Household appliances too.  Most of it can be recycled.

In response, the EU has updated  regulations from 2002

on the collection, treatment  and recovery of this waste.

On average, 4 kg of electrical waste is  collected from every European each year.

Under the new laws, the weight would  rise to 20 kg by the end of the decade.

For that to happen,  more appliances must be collected.

Right now, only one in three devices  is picked up and treated correctly.

Efforts vary widely from nation to nation.

But in future all countries must try  to collect 85% of all goods

containing electrical and electronic waste,

Some exporters here label equipment  as 'used but functioning'.

It's easy to ship abroad illegally  to places like Asia and Africa

They have a much worse  recycling system.

and in some European countries  we recycle up to 90%.

This process can certainly be good  for a foreign economy,

because there's money in e-waste  and jobs to be found treating it.

Appliances contain  gold, silver and copper,

But they're made of dangerous  materials like lead and cadmium.

Dumped in landfill,  they can contaminate groundwater.

Exposure can retard  the development of children.

In an effort to crack down,  the EU decided to force exporters

to prove that they're sending equipment  abroad for re-use, not just to get rid of it.

The laws also put the onus  onto stores and dealers,

obliging them to take back appliances  at the end of their life.

Customers must also be able to see how  much of the price goes toward recycling,

like the Recupel contribution  here in Belgium.

Prices may rise,  but the aim is to save in the future

by putting resources back into circulation.

instead of buying  from other parts of the world.

Sometimes you can't find enough  rare earth metals or rare earth minerals.

Now we will actually produce it ourselves  in our homes.

In the end, whatever the law,  it's the consumer who plays the key role

by choosing what products to buy  and whether to recycle them.

And it's the consumer, rather than  the taxpayer, who will bear the costs.

With these laws,  EU nations are under pressure

to provide the right facilities for recycling  and to educate their publics

about what to do with old electrical  and electronic appliances.