Page 29 - Implementation of the ITU-T International Standards for the Sustainable Management of Electrical and Electronic Equipment: On the road to a circular economy in Argentina

Implementation of the ITU-T International Standards for the Sustainable Management of
Electrical and Electronic Equipment: On the road to a circular economy in Argentina

The legal framework described above aims to promote adequate waste management, regarding
household waste, universally generated waste with hazardous elements, and industrially
generated waste. However, in the absence of a national standard to regulate the Extended
Producer Responsibility comprehensively, WEEE are sometimes left in hybrid categories,
making it difficult to manage them properly.
Another worth mentioning issue is the restriction on the use of cadmium, mercury, and lead
batteries above baseline requirements set up in National Act 26.184. 16

In addition to the need to adopt the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), there is a
consensus among policymakers that the bills on WEEE may ban, totally or partially, electronic
waste deposits in landfills; but they must first ensure that the recycling industry is capable of
handling the volumes generated.

In this regard, and according to the installed capacity of the EEE managers, gradual guidelines
could be defined for managing and recycling the tons of EEE commercialized annually, for
example, 20 per cent in five years and 50 per cent in 10 years. The standards should evaluate
what to do with the remaining WEEE and all "orphan" appliances of companies without a
"producer" of reference.

Consequently, it is advocated that in this new political context, the authorities should promptly
approve, based on the consensus of the different sectors involved, minimum requirements
ruling WEEE management considering at least the following aspects:

1) Defining the concepts of EEE and WEEE.
2) Determining exceptions and inclusions of WEEE.
3) Defining the management circuit, including the activities of collection, reconditioning,
repair and re-use, storage, transportation and logistics, dismantling, reutilization, recovery,
and final disposal.
4) Promoting the reduction of waste generated by EEE.
5) Educating for responsible consumption, collection, and adequate segregation in origin
as well as sustainable final disposal.
6) Producers' responsibilities and legal and financial liabilities.
7) Life cycle analysis in the design and production processes of EEE.
8) Ensuring greater durability of the products.
9) Banning the presence of hazardous substances in new electrical and electronic equipment.

As mentioned above, the WEEE Directive of the European Union, as well as the legal frameworks
of countries such as Spain, Switzerland and Costa Rica, and others, have regulations on the
aforementioned aspects.
On 28 November 2022, Act 25916 was regulated by Decree 779, which incorporates
key guidelines to address production, distribution, consumption and recycling, as well as
promoting waste recovery and re-use. In addition, it includes the principle of Extended Producer
Responsibility, which assigns extended integral management liability and its financing to
producers who market goods for the first time, and tackles the following issues:
• Incentives for the systematic integration of environmental aspects in the design of goods
and products (eco-design).
• Special programmes for the management of special universally generated waste (REGU).

16 Act 26.184 http:// servicios .infoleg .gob .ar/ infolegInternet/ anexos/ 120000 -124999/ 123408/ norma .htm.

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