European Commission acts against UK waste

The European Commission has formally asked eight Member States (Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Poland and the UK) to transpose into their national laws three EU Directives tackling the environmental problems caused by electronic and electrical waste.

If a Member State fails to comply with this request, the Commission could take it to the European Court of Justice.

The Directives in question aim to ensure that e-waste, which often contains hazardous materials, is not simply thrown away, but is collected, recycled and reused, with the remaining waste being properly treated. The actions are part of a series of environment-related infringement decisions against several Member States which the Commission is currently announcing.

“Member States have agreed on ambitious legislation to tackle the problems caused by rapidly growing amounts of e-waste. But they also have to do the follow-up work and implement what they have agreed," said Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.