MEPs move to tighten rules to encourage recycling of electrical waste, recovery of valuable materials and to stop overseas dumping.

The News: It's not waste, it's valuable!

Every year we dump more and more  refrigerators, washing machines and TVs

along with outdated computers  and mobile phones.

The 2003 directive on electrical and  electronic waste hasn’t worked well enough

and a lot still goes  into incinerators or landfill.

to prevent waste being dumped  in developing countries

and to make recycling easier  for consumers.

It’s not waste, it’s raw material –  copper, gold, silver...

That’s very helpful for our industry,  because industry needs raw materials.

One tonne of electronic waste  has 50 times more gold

By 2016, most Member States must collect  45% by weight of the electrical goods sold,

rising over three years to 65%  or 85% of so-called e-waste.

For some goods,  an 80% recycling target is being set,

and larger retailers must provide disposal  sites, even for goods bought elsewhere.

It may affect retail prices,  but not in the long term.

It will be cheaper to re-use rather than  to buy from other parts of the world.

And sometimes you cannot even find  enough rare earth metals or minerals.

A clampdown on illegal e-waste shipments  to Africa, India and China

should ensure more material  is recycled in Europe,

where waste materials  can be salvaged and re-used.