Under the latest update of the Waste Electrical and Electric Equipment Directive (WEEE), large CE retailers will have to take back old devices for free, without need for customers making a new purchase.
The take-back directive covers retailers with shop space of 400 square metres or larger, and will come into force over the next 7 years.
The EU plans to improve electrical and electronic waste collection within the region from the current 4kg per capita to around 20kg by 2020. Authorities estimate the volume of waste electronics will total 12M tons by 2020-- and hopes 85% of such waste will be separately collected.
EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik says: "Proper treatment of WEEE is important to prevent harm to human health and the environment, and its systematic collection is the precondition for professional recycling of the valuable raw materials like gold, silver, copper and rare metals, contained in our used TVs, laptops and mobile phones."