Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-05-10-Speech-2-746-000"
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"en.20110510.69.2-746-000"2
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"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 500 000 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 22 000 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."@en1
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