WEEE Directive

It is a pleasure, Mr. Taylor, to see you in such an obvious and deserved position of authority today. This debate has excited a lot of interest in the electrical industry, and I hope that it will excite some interest among elected Members of Parliament. The directive is a response to the growing volume of electrical and electronic waste, which is the fastest growing waste stream by volume and by weight. The UK produces 1.2 million tonnes a year, and the EU produces 14 kg per person a year, which is astonishingly high. The causes are readily identifiable. Clearly, there is rising disposable income. There is also considerable technological development in mobile phones and the ever-ongoing IT revolution, which affects all aspects of our existence: home, workplace and leisure activities. There is a greater variety of electrical and electronic products to buy, such as simple things like toothbrushes and mowers, which used to be worked by hand and are now worked by electricity, and new developments such as DVD players and microwaves, the like of which previous generations did not see. There are new electrical products on the market. There is also a strong element of planned obsolescence in the industry, which was formerly a feature of the automotive industry. We recall cars that were developed with rust pockets built into them, and the use of chromium alongside steel, which precipitates immediate rusting. We recall the time that almost every car in the street was rusting away shortly after it left the showroom. There is a similar syndrome in the electrical and electronic industry. We can all point to breakable plastic features of electrical equipment that forces us to cashier it although it is otherwise usable.