Disposal of Electric and Electronic Waste – New Regulations in the Province of Buenos Aires

In the past two years certain jurisdictions enacted several ministerial decisions aiming at regulating the handling and disposal of Electric and Electronic Waste, commonly known as ‘WEEE’.

The City of Buenos Aires first in 2008, (1) followed by the Province of Buenos Aires in early 2011, (2) headed this trend.

In November 2, 2011, the Senate of the Province of Buenos Aires passed the first law within the Country establishing the principles, liabilities and obligations for the sustainable management of WEEE.

The purpose of this law is to prevent and reduce the generation of WEEE, protect the environment, promote the reuse and recycling of such wastes, and most importantly, it aims at modifying the conduct of all the individuals who are part of the life-cycle of electric and electronic devices (‘EEDs’).

The law defines WEEEs as electric or electronic devices disposed or to be disposed, including their internal components and consumables, as from the moment they become a waste. Law’s Annex I.a provides for different categories of WEEEs, and Annex I.b lists the products included within the scope of the definition of EEDs and WEEEs.

It also provides for a different treatment to existing WEEE than those to be generated as from the enactment of the Law.

The Law also creates a mechanism by means of which end users are allowed to return WEEEs to sellers at the moment of replacing existing equipment. Reception and adequate disposal by sellers is mandatory under the Law.

The Law also creates specific disposal units (‘Centros de Recepción’) that would be located in each municipality of the Province, where users of EEDs will be allowed to dispose of WEEEs. In such units, WEEEs would be decontaminated, selected, classified and eventually stored for recycling purposes.

In order to facilitate the management of the WEEEs in the specific disposal units, producers of electronic and electric appliances, must:

1. Reduce the use of certain substances in future production of EEDs (such as lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium, among others);
2. Design and produce EEDs of easy dismantling, reuse and recycling of its components;
3. Provide sufficient information in relation to EEDs components, allowing the identification of recyclable materials and dangerous substances;
4. Include a symbol in equipments, packages, user instructions and warranties, that may represent the prohibition to dispose of WEEEs as domestic waste, including a brief explanation of its meaning;
5. Inform end users about the potential effects that dangerous substances contained may have on the environment or human health;

The enforcement authority will be empowered to:

1. Ensure compliance with the Law by individuals and entities;
2. Perform educational activities aimed at end users of electric and electronic devices to promote recycling and generation of wastes reduction;
3. Create a mandatory registry for manufacturers and distributors of electric and electronic devices;
4. Perform inspections to manufacturers and distributors;
5. Apply a Sanction Code;
6. Create the Control and Follow up Council (“Consejo de Control y Seguimiento”);
7. Encourage the minimization of WEEE’s final disposal as urban solid waste.

Manufacturers and distributors of electric and electronic devices will finance the WEEE management system through a special tax to be created.

The Law also encourages manufacturers and distributors to design systems aiming at creating value from waste and to recycle WEEEs and their components.

The Law also provides a 1-year term to adjust current methodologies to its the provisions. After this period, breaches to regulation shall be sanctioned with:

1. Warnings;
2. Fines ranging from 10 up to 500 times the minimum salary of the basic initial category of the Provincial Public Administration (currently about US$ 1,800 to US$ 80,000);
3. Provisional suspension of activities, from 30 days up to 1 year; or
4. Closure of facilities and permanent suspension of the activity.

Although the Executive Branch had partially vetoed some of the Law articles (e.g. the special tax created by the Law and the creation of the Control and Follow up Council), in December 15, 2011, the Law became binding (excluding vetoed articles) after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Complementary regulations to the Law’s provisions should be enacted within the next 90 business days.