The European Ink Toner and Remanufacturers Association (ETIRA) is celebrating a change to Spanish rules which mean all importers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) to the country must now prove their waste management credentials.
Following extensive lobbying and proposals from ETIRA, along with the Spanish office of the European Recycling Platform, a raft of rule changes around the management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and batteries have received royal ascent.
The royal decree modifies the current WEEE regulations, meaning all importers of EEE from third countries will be required to enter their Integrated Industrial Registry number, (WEEE registration number) when clearing imports of EEE into Spain.
The measures are introduced so that, prior to the importation of electrical and electronic equipment, Spanish Authorities can supervise and verify the correct compliance with the registration obligations in the Integrated Industrial Registry (WEEE registration) by the producers, importers or authorised representatives.
The results of the controls are carried out prior to importation and will then be transferred to the competent authorities for market surveillance.
This change closes a loophole where printer consumables could be imported, but the importer was not required to disclose the WEEE registration details. Unregistered importers would then avoid the cost of providing a WEEE collection programme and paying the appropriate costs of WEEE compliance.
Javier Martinez, President of ETIRA, the European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturers Association said: “This is excellent news for Spanish remanufacturers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMS) who have historically faced the challenge of competing with low cost imports achieved by those not contributing to the costs of WEEE, but at the same time have had to contribute to the correct processing of WEEE.
“The rule change was formulated at a meeting with ETIRA, the European Recycling Platform, Spain’s Environment ministry and Customs authorities.” Martinez added.
A third country is a country that is not one of the 27 members of the European Union and the 3 countries of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway).
For further information about ETIRA and its work, visit www.etira.org
ETIRA, formed in 2003, is a Belgian registered non-profit organisation that represents the interests of the inkjet and toner cartridge remanufacturers and related service providers and is the recognised industry body for all topics affecting the industry. ETIRA provides many services to its members: legal and regulatory advice, public relations, environmental impacts, quality and standardisation forums and member contact platforms. ETIRA also manages a remanufacturing Code of Conduct and a collective mark assuring consumers of less expensive but 100% environment-friendly remanufactured cartridges.
Contacts:
Secretary General: Vincent van Dijk, info@etira.org, Tel + 31 6 414 614 63
SOURCE ETIRA
Resolve Power Issues that can Cause Equipment Error Codes, Malfunction and Downtime with this