Legal eye

Every generation, it seems, has its favored do-good messages for children. In my youth, Kermit the Frog of Sesame Street fame lamented about difficulties of being different in his signature tune, "It's Not Easy Being Green." Recently, I took my daughter to see "WALL-E" and was served up a vision of the world awash in trash. If Kermit was performing today, the song title would probably remain the same, but the message would relate to saving the environment, with recycling as a good star

The European Union and Poland have spoken on the issue of proper disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment. Whether or not you are inclined to be green (I mean as in recycling, not as an amphibian), you should take care to dispose of your gadgets, household appliances, and other electrical and electronic equipment properly, as it could directly affect your wallet.

Full life cycle

In true EU fashion, the original 2003 EU Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and the 2005 Polish Act implementing the Directive work to encompass the full life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment. Thus, producers, sellers, treatment facilities, and even consumers all have assigned responsibilities for reducing the amount of garbage resulting from our appliances and gadgets.

Producer paperwork

Producers of electrical and electronic equipment bear the brunt of the obligations. The Directive bluntly states that the reason for producer responsibility is to encourage longer use of the equipment, recycling and proper disposal. As is the case with EU-speak, the Act defines "producer" to mean more than the normal linguistic connotations. It not only refers to manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment, but also companies that sell under their own brands equipment manufactured by others. And, as more of a stretch, the term includes importers of equipment into Poland from other EU countries or outside the EU.

Producers should be prepared to fill out paperwork. Before selling their equipment, they must register as a producer with the Chief Inspector of Environmental Protection. The registration number must be put on all invoices and other corporate documents. Following registration, producers must file various reports, including monthly reports on the amount and mass of equipment sold, and quarterly reports on waste collection efforts.

For each piece of equipment that could end up in a household garbage bin, the producer is required to provide information for end-users on proper disposal. In addition to those symbols on the back of equipment, the producer also must attach information on the ban on throwing waste equipment in the trash, the potential harm to the environment resulting from improper disposal and the mass of the equipment. The producer must also inform about collection of waste equipment and the role that households can play in the re-use and recovery process.

Retail collection 

Retail stores have a fairly small role in the process. Their main job is to provide information on collection points for waste equipment. However, they also must accept waste equipment in the same amount and of the type of any new equipment bought. The next time I receive a new mobile phone, I'll drop off one of the broken ones lying around my house.

Consumer obligations

The consumer's job in this whole process is to dispose of waste electrical and electronic equipment properly. If you decide to do the easy thing and just throw an old mobile phone in the trash, you could be fined up to zł.5,000.

Throwing an old mobile phone into the trash doesn't seem like problem. However, much of even a small thing like a mobile phone is recoverable. In fact, the Act sets fairly high norms that producers must obtain for the recovery and recycling of parts of electrical and electronic equipment. For a mobile phone, 75 percent of its mass must be recoverable and 65 percent recyclable.

Judith Gliniecki is a Partner with Wierzbowski Eversheds