New EU recycling laws worry manufacturers

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Electronics manufacturers will have to collect and recycle nearly two thirds of the electrical goods they sell in the European Union, the EU's executive said on Wednesday.

The proposal angered producers, who said it bore little relation to the real world, where people often pass on old televisions and computers to friends, families, charities or schools, making them impossible to keep track of.

The EU's Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive seeks to minimize the incineration or dumping in land-fill sites of household appliances.

"Making sure that certain hazardous substances do not find their way into these products and that they are properly collected and recycled when no longer used is absolutely vital," said European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.

But the existing directive has proved costly and burdensome, and created a labyrinth of different national laws for manufacturers to navigate.

As a result, the European Commission has revised the directive, replacing the annual collection target of 4 kg of electronic waste per person with a target of collecting 65 percent of the electrical equipment placed on the market.

"We are concerned that on collection targets, the responsibility seems to have shifted onto the producers," said Kirstie McIntyre, head of European environmental compliance at Hewlett-Packard.

Worries that the financial burden will be shifted onto producers was shared by the European Committee of Domestic Appliance Manufacturers (CEDEC).

"That could result in municipalities presenting us with bills that we'd simply have to pay, without knowing if they are reasonable or true," said CEDEC Director General Luigi Meli.

(Reporting by Pete Harrison)