mr president does the commissioner not consider that if any of us woke up one morning to find our rich neighbours had dumped their toxic rubbish in our front yard we would be furious
yet that is what the eu is doing every day
every year tonnes of toxic waste is shipped from the eu to developing countries against european environmental law smuggled through ports with very weak controls
almost three quarters of electric waste in the eu is unaccounted for and only one third of electronic waste is treated according to eu legislation
in the uk the average briton throws away four pieces of electronic waste every year
that is five hundred zero tonnes of broken tvs computers and phones but over half of this is not recorded as being recycled it just disappears and that is only in my own country
the export of controlled waste from the eu for disposal is prohibited under current legislations yet annually illegal shipments from the eu are thought to average about twenty-two zero tonnes
the weee directive states that exported electronic items must be in working order
however this relies on effective eu-wide inspection policies which are clearly missing
this waste contains lead cadmium barium mercury brominated flame retardants and other chemicals and plastics that become hazardous when burned
burning is often the cheapest method to recover these valuable metals as adults and children scramble over the dumps of rubbish in their quest to earn a few cents
we cannot ignore the environmental and health impacts of this scandal which affects the most vulnerable
frankly as a european i am ashamed
i thank the commissioner for the answers and the responses but we need to know the specifics of how he is going to close this loophole in the waste shipment regulation
does the commission have any plans to address the tonnes of eu waste already dumped in african countries
does the waste shipment regulation need to be revised or is it just a matter of enforcement
this is an urgent problem and action needs to be taken now
i await your response
