FRF and partners hand over Action Agenda against e-waste to Minister
Electronics that break after two years. Repairs that are more expensive than a new device. Yet another new model on the market. The effort it takes to claim your warranty. FRF, together with 17 other organisations, says: things must change.
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Over the past year, Fair Resource Foundation has worked with the Taskforce Circulaire Elektronicaketen (Circular Electronics Chain Taskforce) on an action agenda against e-waste and unsustainable electronics. We advocate for addressing bottlenecks throughout the entire life cycle of devices. Minister for Climate Stientje van Veldhoven received the agenda today.
This is a special moment. A broad coalition of parties – from the producers' organisation to civil society organisations, sorters and waste processors – sat down together, all acknowledged the major issues with electronics, and agreed on a total of 28 solutions. Thanks to Stichting OPEN for initiating this process. As a taskforce, we have agreed on what we will do ourselves, but without changes to laws and regulations, we cannot progress any further.
From Fair Resource Foundation, we took on the pioneering role for the production and use phase of the action agenda. We are very positive about the result, which provides strong guidelines for the transition to a circular electronics chain. Especially because the document is so widely supported. The action agenda itself does not change anything yet. That will only happen if the government and politicians now truly follow through. Below are a few solutions that are important to us:
Less disposable, more long-term use
The market is flooded with electronics that cannot be properly repaired and are not designed for long-term use. As long as these electronics remain cheaper than a sustainable alternative, circularity cannot compete. This must stop. We are asking both national and European policymakers to resolve this, including through:
A ban on non-rechargeable and non-repairable disposable electronics
More supervision and enforcement of non-compliant electronics
Standardisation of components, for better repairability
Encouraging the use of secondary raw materials compared to primary raw materials for the production of electronics. This, for example, through financial incentives, such as pricing primary raw materials, or standardisation.
The sustainable choice must become the norm
As a taskforce, we established that the market is focused on rapid replacement, and consumers have virtually no information about the actual lifespan or repairability of their purchase. Various proposed measures in the action agenda address this, from mandatory information provision about the product and its repairability and maintenance, to the establishment of a national repair fund so that discounts can be provided and repairs can be encouraged.
Broadening extended producer responsibility, including waste prevention
One of the measures is to broaden the current extended producer responsibility (EPR), which is currently mainly focused on collection and recycling, to prevention and (preparing for) reuse. This will ensure that circular strategies higher up the R-ladder, such as reuse and repair, can be financed from the EPR. That is a huge step towards circularity. The fact that the entire taskforce, including Stichting OPEN, has agreed on this, provides opportunities to genuinely change the EPR.
Time for action
This document is truly unique in its kind due to the broad number of concrete measures, and it offers a good starting point for the Chain Table Electronics (Ketentafel Elektronica) which started in June. It is a guideline for the future. It is now on paper. Now it is up to politics and the entire chain to do something with it.
