The environmental standards for the collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment set by the European Union for the EU member states, together with the legislation in force (GD 1037/2010) making it mandatory to establish a WEEE collection center for every 50,000 inhabitants are two of the pillars that prompted us start a new national project.

The projects is meant to support the authorities by providing WEEE collection solutions at European standards in order to reach the quota set by the European Union, namely 4 kg of WEEE collected annually per capita and not least, by protecting the environment.

In July 2011, the Romanian Recycling Association RoRec launched the first five collection centers, at European standards, in partnership with the townhalls from Brad, Calarasi, Hunedoara, Tulcea and Valenii de Munte. This is the first stage of the National RoRec Collection Centers Network developed in partnership with the townhalls that will cover more than 100 locations over the next two years to stimulate the WEEE collection rate that is now completely unsatisfactory, with only 1-1.5kilograms/year/capita.

“Being the first to open the National RoRec Collection Centers Network is an honor for us, as caring for the environment is one of our priorities. The inhabitants of Tulcea county now have a solution at hand for the collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment, at European standards”, added Mr. Constantin Hogea, Mayor of Tulcea.

“I said yes to this partnership precisely in order to support the local community, fostering the right civic behavior and giving the citizens a modern service that is also vital for protecting the environment. We want to thank the RoRec Association for their support through this partnership, we are honored to be part of the National WEEE Collection Centers Network.”, added Mr. Mircea Nitu, Mayor of Valenii de Munte.

“Building the collection infrastructure is our responsibility and we are glad that, together with the RoRec Association, we cam provide our community with the necessary conditions to dispose of this waste by using professional services, at European standards”, added Mr. Nicolae Dragu, Mayor of Calarasi.

“We are honored to be among the first centers opened in the National RoRec Network. We invite all inhabitants of Hunedoara to get involved and bring their old appliances to the recently opened center, because a small gesture like this has a major impact on the state of the environment.”, added Mr. Ovidiu Marius Hada, Mayor of the Hunedoara Municipality.

“Having such a place, fitted at European standards, was one of our priorities for this year. We are glad that we were able to implement this project with the RoRec Association so as to provide our citizens with an accessible solution for WEEE collection – it is a successful partnership meant to help protect the environment in our municipality and an answer to the inhabitants’ requests for having a WEEE collection service”, added Mr. Florin Cazacu, Mayor of Brad.

The National RoRec Collection Centers Network developed in partnership with the townhalls is about creating a coherent WEEE collection infrastructure nationwide, a service for the community, a space fitted according to the European standards for the organized and entirely safe collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment, in compliance with the environmental norms.

To date, the five WEEE collection centers have met the needs of over 750,000 citizens from five municipalities and their surrounding areas, as well as the legal obligations pertaining to the local authorities.

Collecting this type of waste is vital for the environment, but also for the welfare of any community, because WEEE are ten times more toxic than household waste, as they hold non-biodegradable components that contain harmful substances, such as mercury, nickel, lead or cadmium. In case of improper processing, WEEE have a high toxic potential both for the environment and for people and could cause allergies, sterility, heart diseases or cancer. Thus, dropping off obsolete or defective appliances at the RoRec WEEE Collection Center is the right solution, in compliance with the environmental norms, as this waste is to be sent to licensed recyclers for proper treatment, according to each type of equipment.

The WEEE Collection Center provides services both to the population and to companies and institutions via an "Infoline" desk open from Monday through Friday, between 9.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. and Saturday between 9.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m.. The reception of the old equipment is done directly at the center, between 9.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m., while heavy or large appliances can be picked up from home, following a request made at the infoline number. Companies and institutions can also place requests for the pick-up of old equipment for scrapping, using the same infoline number.

Arctic, Philips and Whirpool were the first founding members of the association to support these actions.

Worldwide, the recycling of depleting resources is a priority, a fact also reflected in the annual collection quotas for the Western-European countries that are up to four times higher than the 4 kg/year/inhabitant quota set by the European Union. Approximately 30,000 tons of WEEE have been collected annually in Romania over the past two years, which means 1-1.5 kg of the assigned quota, as a EU member state.