BACK TO HOME PAGE

EUROPEAN REVIEW

ISSUE 21 - Page 7

Recycling : UK taken to task on cars as new directive agreed

THE FLOW OF EU legislation on recycling shows no sign of abating but its implementation in the Member States is proving harder to achieve. As described in issue 11 agreement was reached on an 'end of life vehicle' directive and this should have come into force in the UK in April, with manufacturers being responsible for recycling of cars manufactured after July. However no legislation has been forthcoming from Parliament to put the European law into practice. Meanwhile the EU is pressing on with new directives having recently agreed two on the subject of electrical waste (see issue 19 page 7).

Already embarrassed by the fridge pile-up (last issue, page 7), the UK government would now appear to face an old banger mountain as well as legal action from the European Commission. On this issue however they are not alone, no fewer than ten EU countries have been warned that they face legal action. Commissioner Margot Wallström said 'Member States must live up to their responsibilities and translate their political will into action. This legislation is designed to protect citizens and the environment in which we all live'.

junk cars

In the UK, at least, the problem seems to be deciding who will pay. The manufacturers say that they cannot bear the costs alone and suggest that car breaking yards should chip in. The yards, however, favour a levy on the sales of all new cars. Local authorities have also been blamed while environmentalists fear that the situation will get worse in 2007 when all cars must be recycled. At the same time the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have reached agreement on the new directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment.

Nine million cars are abandoned in Europe each year

From mid-2004 governments will have a binding target of 4 kg. to collect per person per year from private households. The producers will pay for this operation but it is up to them whether they participate in a general scheme or run their own for their products only. An associated directive will ban four heavy metals and two flame retardants from this equipment by 2006. On this occasion Wallström commented 'now we can be confident that when we dispose of our mobile phone, video recorder or PC they are not simply landfilled and creating waste mountains. The consumer will be able to return equipment at its end of life free of charge and send it for environmentally sound treatment, re-use and recycling'.

New H & S policy must change says Euro-Parliament

FOLLOWING THE PUBLICATION EARLIER this year of the new policy on health and safety by the European Commission, the European Parliament have had their say. On October 22nd they voted 381 to 62 to adopt a resolution which made several criticisms and amendments of the document 'Adapting to Change in Work and Society: A New Community Strategy on Health and Safety at Work 2002-2006' (see issue 19 page 5).

British MEP Stephen Hughes (PES, North-East), the 'rapporteur,' stressed in the resolution that the EU must allocate the resources to health and safety which are necessary to achieve its aims of quality in work and employability. He contrasted the 130 officials who were working in this field in 1992 with the 24 on the job today. The resolution went on to recommend that all the commitments made in the Commission report should have target dates for completion and a 'gender dimension' should be integrated throughout the strategy. Military personnel, the self-employed, domestic workers and home-workers, presently excluded from the framework directive on health and safety, should be incorporated into the new policy.

Hughes, S.

Mr. Hughes does not want to see legislative simplification used as a cover for deregulation but rather to have existing laws made more consistent with the duties of each 'stakeholder' spelled out and tougher sanctions for those who fail to carry them out. He is particularly concerned about small businesses (SMEs) whose higher accident rates have not led to a proposed special programme for them being implemented. Disabled people must be both reintegrated and retained by the labour market, the resolution says. Negotiated agreements should provide ways for people disabled during their working career to stay at work. In an added opinion to the resolution, the equal opportunities committee amplified the need for a 'gender dimension' in the new policy.

Stephen Hughes MEP

While the Commission document refers to 'an increasingly feminised society', no action is proposed to acknowledge this by breaking down statistics and targets by gender. The committee also wants a revision of the pregnant workers directive and for companies to adopt measures against harassment, bullying and violence.

The original commission document and the Hughes resolution can be downloaded from the internet at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/news/2002/mar/new_strategy_en.html and
http://www2.europarl.eu.int/omk/sipade2?L=EN&OBJID=3904&LEVEL=3&MODE=SIP&NAV=X&LSTDOC=N#Content573738 respectively.

Back to

Forward to

Up to

Back to

FRONT PAGE

NEXT PAGE

TOP OF THIS PAGE

LIST OF
HEALTH & SAFETY
ARTICLES

Already embarrassed by the fridge pile-up (last issue, page 7), the UK government would now appear to face an old banger mountain as well as legal action from the European Commission. On this issue however they are not alone, no fewer than ten EU countries have been warned that they face legal action. Commissioner Margot Wallström said 'Member States must live up to their responsibilities and translate their political will into action. This legislation is designed to protect citizens and the environment in which we all live'.			In the UK, at least, the problem seems to be deciding who will pay. The manufacturers say that they cannot bear the costs alone and suggest that car breaking yards should chip in. The yards, however, favour a levy on the sales of all new cars. Local authorities have also been blamed while environmentalists fear that the situation will get worse in 2007 when all cars must be recycled. At the same time the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have reached agreement on the new directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment.
	Nine million cars are abandoned in Europe each year

British MEP Stephen Hughes (PES, North-East), the 'rapporteur,' stressed in the resolution that the EU must allocate the resources to health and safety which are necessary to achieve its aims of quality in work and employability. He contrasted the 130 officials who were working in this field in 1992 with the 24 on the job today. The resolution went on to recommend that all the commitments made in the Commission report should have target dates for completion and a 'gender dimension' should be integrated throughout the strategy. Military personnel, the self-employed, domestic workers and home-workers, presently excluded from the framework directive on health and safety, should be incorporated into the new policy.		Mr. Hughes does not want to see legislative simplification used as a cover for deregulation but rather to have existing laws made more consistent with the duties of each 'stakeholder' spelled out and tougher sanctions for those who fail to carry them out. He is particularly concerned about small businesses (SMEs) whose higher accident rates have not led to a proposed special programme for them being implemented. Disabled people must be both reintegrated and retained by the labour market, the resolution says. Negotiated agreements should provide ways for people disabled during their working career to stay at work. In an added opinion to the resolution, the equal opportunities committee amplified the need for a 'gender dimension' in the new policy.
	Stephen Hughes MEP

Back to	Forward to	Up to	Back to
FRONT PAGE	NEXT PAGE	TOP OF THIS PAGE	LIST OF HEALTH & SAFETY ARTICLES