New group forms plan to fall in line with EU law
RUSTY refrigerators and other old bulky domestic appliances that owners discard in backyards, roadsides, and in fields will soon be either trucked away to designated dump spots or shipped abroad to comply with a new European directive on dealing with waste electrical and electronic equipment.
With the Parliamentary vote to implement the European Directive on August 13, 2005, importers or manufacturers of domestic electronic and electric equipment are now responsible to relieve customers of their appliances once the goods grow outdated.
Companies have been given a grace period to find a way to deal with the appliances, but should any companies fail to take the necessary measures, they will face fines and other penalties.
Because Cyprus imports all of its domestic electric and electronic appliances, including air conditioners, it is up to the importers to deal with the old appliances.
As a result, the importers have recently formed a non-profit organisation tentatively titled Cyprus Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (CYWEEE), which will be responsible for organising the removal and disposal/recycling of the old appliances.
CYEEE President Stelios Athanasiou told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that the importers had decided to form an organisation, because it would be far too expensive for each importer to contend with waste appliances individually.
“We are presently in the process of hiring people,” Athanasiou said. “We first have to find the companies who are going to collect the appliances.”
CYWEEE will operate under a government license but will fall under the umbrella of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEVE).
Athanasiou said that he expects that they will agree on the necessary tax to be levied by the end of April. “When somebody buys a new appliance they will have to pay a fee, which will be transferred to the organisations responsible for collecting those appliances that are at the end of their life and for recycling and disposing of them.”
Athanasiou said they would take cue from organisations in other European countries such as Holland, Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland, many of which have been dealing with waste electrical and electronic appliances for over 10 years.
“It’s not an easy job that anybody can do. Say you are collecting refrigerators. You have to collect the gas and also separate the foam insulation.”
Although there is no plan yet on how to deal with the waste appliances, one of the possibilities is to ship the items abroad.
Athanasiou said that the CYWEEE needs more members to raise necessary capital. “And it’s in the interest of importers to join. From what I’ve heard they will face very stiff fines if they do not collect the old appliances.”
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