4 new members join WEEE Forum in tackling global e-waste challenge

Four new members, two of which are from outside Europe, have joined the WEEE Forum, a Brussels-based, international not-for-profit association speaking for forty not-for-profit electrical and electronic equipment waste producer responsibility organisations.

The four new members are Cobat RAEE, Italy; Recyclia, Spain; Karo Sambhav, India; and EPRON, Nigeria. Karo Sambhav and EPRON represent the WEEE Forum’s first African and Asian members and join a list of members from across Europe, North America and Australasia.

The expansion of the WEEE Forum beyond its established European base reflects the recognised problem that e-waste has become in all parts of the world. The desire of administrations and businesses across the planet to address the issue and provide a clean and safe route for e-waste collection and recycling is manifested in new legislation and new organisations that directly target e-waste.

Increasing global interest

Pascal Leroy, director general of the WEEE Forum, says, “There is an increasing global interest in e-waste and ensuring that e-waste is dealt with correctly by competent and qualified organisations.” He continues, “New laws are backing up this interest and the experience the WEEE Forum and its members have in delivering effective e-waste management in a challenging legislative and operating environment is invaluable to organisations that are becoming involved in the sector. This is why the WEEE Forum welcomes new members, why they are attracted to us and why we continue to be the world's largest multi-national centre of competence for the management of e-waste.”

Cobat RAEE was founded in 2018 and represents 740 producers in Italy; it covers all e-waste categories. In its first year of operation it collected over 16,000 tonnes of WEEE.
Recyclia incorporates Ecoasimelec, Ecopilas, Ecolum, Ecofimatica and Targamovil responsible respectively for the collection of WEEE, batteries, lighting, printing equipment and mobile phones. In 2018 Recyclia collected over 32,000 tonnes of e-waste.
India's Karo Sambhav, a producer responsibility organisation, has 28 producer members. It is currently spread across 29 states, three union territories, and over 60 cities. Karo Sambhav has collected over 6,000 tonnes of WEEE since 2017. India is the fourth largest producer of e-waste globally.
EPRON was founded in 2018 and began operations in May 2019. It is the first producer responsibility organisation for electronic waste in Nigeria and is a pioneer in the development of responsible e-waste treatment and extended producer responsibility in Africa.