Spanish producers "shirking electroscrap costs"

Only ten per cent of Spanish electronic and electrical goods producers are contributing to equipment recycling costs as required of them under EU electroscrap legislation, according to national recycling collective Ecolec.

Ten months after a deadline to sign up to an industry ministry registry established under the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive, an estimated 90 per cent of producers, representing a fifth of the market, have yet to do so, Ecolec said. The ministry assigns recycling costs to producers. Ecolec estimates the unregistered firms owe €15m in arrears.