Sony Corp, Electrolux AB, Hewlett-Packard Co and other makers of consumer electronics will likely have to pay to collect and dispose of used refrigerators, computers and televisions under new EU rules.
The European Parliament will vote next week on laws setting targets for collecting and recycling "waste electrical and electronic equipment." Manufacturers fear they may also have to pay to recycle goods made by other producers.
"What's really making it very difficult is the proposal that we should be responsible for financing recycling where producers have disappeared," said Kieren Mayers, responsible for EU environment policy at Sony. "It's like asking drivers who keep within the speed limit to pay for all those who break it."
The laws are part of the EU's promotion of recycling, including a recent law making carmakers financially responsible for the disposal of old cars as of 2007. In January, the European Commission proposed making chemical and oil companies pay to clean up pollution damage to the environment.
About 90 percent of the 6 million metric tons of electrical equipment thrown away in the EU in 1998 was dumped in landfills or incinerated, causing a disproportionate amount of pollution from the hazardous substances involved, according to the commission, the EU's executive arm. Its volume accounts for 4 percent of municipal waste and will double in 12 years.
The parliament's environment committee agreed to the measures last month. They will need the approval of the 15 EU governments, with several months likely needed to iron out differences, according to officials at the parliament.
Companies would pay collectively under national schemes to recycle used equipment made before the law takes effect. They will likely have to pay individually for the cost of recycling their own products made after the law comes into force.
Manufacturers would also have to pay to collect the goods from retailers and collection points.
The commission originally estimated the cost of the plan at more than 1 billion euros (US$880 million) a year. Orgalime, which represents 100,000 machinery and electronics companies, puts the cost to industry at 40 billion euros.
The parliament may also vote for a 2006 deadline for a partial ban on heavy metals in electrical and electronic equipment, including lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium, as well some flame retardants.
Manufacturers fear lawmakers may vote to allow governments to ban the substances earlier, said Julian Lageard, responsible for government affairs in Europe on health and safety at Intel Corp, the world's biggest semiconductor maker.
"We really want certainty and a fixed date to drive towards," Lageard said, adding that "you need many, many years to test the reliability of alternatives."
The Netherlands has led European countries in forcing manufacturers to take back and process old appliances since 1999.
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