Israel has announced that responsibility for treating electronic waste (WEEE) and batteries will lie with manufacturers and importers from March 1st, 2014. The Economic Affairs Committee of the Knesset (Parliament) approved the regulations during a meeting on January 28, 2014.
The law was supposed to take effect on January 1st, but its implementation was delayed because the Economic Affairs Committee said the Ministry of Environmental Protection did not submit the law's regulations early enough to allow for proper debate.
Two companies have received accreditation from the Ministry of Environmental Protection to become entities that can implement the law: Ecommunity and M.A.I. - Electronics Recycling Corp.
In accordance with the law, importers and manufacturers will be required, through these entities, to recycle 15% of the electronic equipment and batteries that they sell. This target will increase incrementally. By the year 2021 it will have reached 50%.
Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz: "Responsibility for removal of polluting electronic waste is being transferred from local authorities to the importers and manufacturers. Municipalities will now have more resources available to allocate to education and welfare. Thus electronic waste will be turned from a nuisance to a resource. In addition, we have asked that compliance companies that receive accreditation to implement the law for manufacturers will hire special needs workers - another expression of the link between social justice and environmental justice."
Some 130,000 tons of electric and electronic waste is generated in Israel each year. Today, it is removed by local authorities, which pays for that removal through property taxes, thus creating a situation where people with lower incomes, who might be generating electronic waste, are subsidizing its removal. In addition, the landfilling of this equipment contaminates the land, the water, and the air. Consumers of this equipment will now be able to dispose of it by bringing it to regulated collection points.
To track e-waste regulations around the world, sign up now for a 30-day free trial of C2P, the compliance knowledge management system!
.png)
