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| Sharp Teams With Loewe and Philips to Recycle Waste Electronic Equipment in Germany |
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Sharp Electronics (Europe) GmbH (below: SEEG; Hamburg, Germany; Hans Kleis, President), Sharp CorporationÕs German sales and marketing subsidiary, is teaming up with Loewe AG (below: Loewe; Kronach, Germany; Dr. Rainer Hecker, CEO) and Philips Consumer Electronics Germany (below: Philips; Hamburg, Germany; Hans-Joachim Kamp, General Manager) to develop and promote recycling operations in Germany for waste consumer electronics in response to the EU Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE Directive), which shall come into effect in August 2005 for electronics manufacturers.
In Germany, to accompany the enforcement of the WEEE Directive, electrical/electronics manufacturers are joining forces to establish the Elektro- Altgerae-Register (EAR). This organization will develop industry-wide rules for tabulating the number of consumer electronics requiring collection, for allocating the used products collected by municipalities to the manufacturers , and especially for ensuring that all manufacturers meet their legal obligations.
SEEG, Loewe and Philips, which are participating in the organization of the EAR, will aim to streamline the take-back and recycling process and minimize costs through the economies of scale gained from mutual cooperation under this agreement and by finalizing agreements with existing take-back and recycling companies.
In the future, to optimize the recycling operations, the three companies are open to cooperation with other manufacturers. They will also study the possibility of cooperative ventures in other regions of the EU as needed.
The WEEE Directive was published in the official EU (European Union) Gazette on February 13, 2003 as a proposed recycling law targeting electrical and electronic equipment. Under the directive, the law will go into effect in all EU member nations by August 13, 2004, and calls for manufacturers to implement collection and recycling operations by August 13, 2005.
As an environmentally advanced company, Sharp is taking a proactive role in the global community, and through SEEG, will be actively involved in the business of recycling. Sharp is also working to accumulate know-how in product design that will facilitate recycling and is pursuing development of new recycling-related technologies for the EU region. |
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