Government of the Dominican Republic approves Extended Producer Responsibility Regulation for WEEE

Recycling end-of-life electronics has a far greater scope and impact than simply reducing the amount of waste.

Electronic devices contain toxic substances such as cadmium, mercury, lead, lithium, among others, which can be harmful to human health if, once they become waste, the devices are not properly recycled.

Every year, around 50 million tons of electrical and electronic waste are produced worldwide, and if we do not take action, by 2050 we will produce around 120 million tons of electronic waste.

Understanding the importance of recycling electronic equipment and its proper final disposal, the Government of the Dominican Republic enacted the Regulations for the Integral Management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment within the framework of Extended Producer Responsibility.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy principle whereby producers and marketers have significant responsibility for the management of post-consumer products, including their final disposal.

This regulation establishes the objective, scope of application, principles, definitions, standards and responsibilities for the actors involved in the integrated management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), in order to reduce the pollution generated by this type of waste.

One of the most important aspects of this regulation is that it establishes the extended responsibility of producers, importers and marketers. The producers have the responsibility for the product, in this case Electronic and Electrical Equipment, EEE, during its entire life cycle, including the post-industrial and post-consumption phases. This means that producers must finance the costs incurred by the management systems according to the quantity of products placed on the market.

It also establishes the different classifications of electrical and electronic equipment and the establishment of collection and recycling goals.

Regarding the integrated management of WEEE, and as part of these responsibilities, producers must complete a registration as producers of EEE and obtain a unique national registration number.

In addition to this, producers must form and implement individual or collective management systems. These management systems will be responsible for assuming the costs of WEEE collection and management.

Distributors and marketers are responsible for supporting the producers' management systems, mainly by accepting the return of discarded EEE from the final consumer, regardless of the brand and free of charge.

Both producers, through the management systems, as well as distributors and marketers, must ensure the traceability of WEEE in its different stages of management.

In order to carry out a correct management of WEEE, the management systems must guarantee the correct management of WEEE in each of its stages, giving priority to the prevention of generation, reduction, reuse, and recovery of materials existing in electronic equipment.

For this purpose, they must hire managers registered and authorized by the Ministry of the Environment that comply with the requirements established in these regulations.
The managers of waste electrical and electronic equipment, within the framework of the integrated management of WEEE, must guarantee the environmentally safe management of WEEE in each of the stages of its management, including reuse, dismantling, decontamination, classification, recovery of materials up to final disposal.

E-Cycling International is the only manager registered and authorized by the Ministry of Environment that has a system that includes all stages of management including reuse, dismantling, decontamination, sorting, material recovery up to final disposal.

E-Cycling has 15 years of experience in e-waste management. We have built a solid reputation for excellence in customer service, integrity and commitment to environmental best practices. We work closely with businesses, institutions and communities to provide customized and sustainable solutions.