§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what her policy is regarding producer responsibility of WEEE for the EU conciliation process; [72039]
(2) how she intends to define producer responsibility for the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive to make it compatible with the producer pays principle; [72037]
(3) if she will make a statement on her policy regarding the principle of individual producer responsibility; [72035]
(4) what steps she is taking to secure well-defined individual producer responsibility for electronic waste. [72036]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Government welcomes the proposed EC Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The Department works closely with all Departments, in particular with the DTI, who lead in negotiations, on this Directive. The Directive is564W still under negotiation and without a final text it is too early to provide details of how it will be implemented in the UK.
The Government supports the principle of individual producer responsibility, though we believe collective responsibility should be kept open as an option where otherwise there could be disproportionate costs to SMEs. The Common position text allows a collective as well as an individual approach to producer responsibility, and both uphold the polluter pays principle.