ecosystem welcomes the WEEE Forum and weee EUROPE for 2 days of exchanges in Paris
On November 14th and 15th, ecosystem welcomes representatives and members of the WEEE Forum in Paris for its General Assembly and Operations Committee. 2 days of exchanges, networking, work and feedback from the various international Producer Responsibility Organizations in charge of the Extended Producer Responsibility for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).
The WEEE Forum is an international association of 51 Producer Responsibility Organizations involved in the EPR for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). From Australia to Canada, through India, South Africa, Nigeria, Colombia and above all the majority of European countries, members regularly discuss their practices and projects, with the aim of spreading knowledge and improving the sector on a global scale, and even creating WEEE industries in new countries. Thematic working groups, studies, R&D, joint communications operations... there are numerous projects to advance the sector and raise public awareness about the need to extend the life of EEE.
Spotlight on two French initiatives hosting this year's event
In 2024, France has the honor of hosting the annual presential meeting, organized jointly by Soren, Ecologic and ecosystem.
Following on from the topic of fighting fire hazards, which we’ve taken in 2022, it's the promotion of repair that takes pride of place this year at the Operations Committee, with the presentation of our incentive scheme set up at the end of 2022. This is an opportunity to look back at the creation of the QualiRépar label and the implementation of the “Bonus Réparation”, with instructive and inspiring feedback after almost 2 years of operation and nearly 800,000 household appliance repairs carried out by labeled professionals.
We also talk about a large-scale project: the creation of a new industrial sector in France dedicated to the recycling of hot water tanks in confined atmospheres,for which 6 processing centers will open in 2025 and 2026. Indeed, the insulating walls of hot water cylinders are lined with fluorinated gases, which are powerful greenhouse gases, with a nuisance potential far greater than that of CO2, and which play a role in ozone pollution peaks. These gases are harmless as long as they are confined within our domestic equipment, but prove dangerous when they escape, generally when this equipment reaches the end of its life.
To understand the impact of fluorinated gases on our planet, we invite you to watch our documentary film “Ces gaz qui soufflent le chaud et le froid” (Gases that blow hot and cold), which ecosystem made with Gilles Raillard.
We're proud to announce that this film won the Silver Award in the Documentary category “Sustainable production, circular economy, waste, pollution” at the Deauville Green Awards International Responsible Film Festival!
A rich agenda
Other initiatives are also on the agenda of the day:
- The PRO Stichting OPEN talks about the implementation of the WEEELABEX label ('WEEE label of excellence' co-financed by the European Commission) in the Netherlands.
- Fundación Ecotic, a Spanish PRO, presents the results of their sampling campaign of domestic air conditioners arriving at recycling centers. In particular, they were able to collect data on the type of gas present in the circuits, as well as the brands, serial numbers, weight and age of the equipment. This approach is in line with WEEE Forum members' desire to refine their knowledge of collected WEEE and optimize reuse and recycling operations.
- The French company MagREEsource, which recycles NdFeB magnets (an alloy of neodymium, iron and boron) in a short loop, is also with us to present its activity. The team is working in partnership with the WEEE Forum and 30 other organizations to create a network to supply rare earth elements for permanent magnets, as part of the European PERMANET project, which is part of the implementation of the Critical Raw Material Act.
- Last but not least, the subject of reuse is also on the agenda, as it is increasingly central to the issues at stake for WEEE Forum members and all players in the industry. Resale Components extracts, recycles and recovers electronic components from obsolete or faulty equipment for reuse in other appliances: a fine circular economy approach shared with all participants at this Paris event.
The weee EUROPE team also present
ecosystem also welcomes the Board of weee EUROPE, in which we are a shareholder alongside 16 other European PRO.
This organization offers a centralized declaration platform for producers who sell their products on several European markets: a single declaration is required, and then weee Europe transmits the data for each market to the concerned PRO.
To find out more, visit our page dedicated to weee EUROPE: