Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales Euro MP Jill Evans has welcomed new EU legislation which will encourage electronic manufacturers to design more environmentally friendly products.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive has been described as one of the most important pieces of EU environmental legislation to date, as it will force manufacturers to dispose of household electrical and electronic waste such as old computers, televisions and toasters - at no cost to the consumer.

Jill Evans MEP, leader of Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales in the European Parliament said,

"Something has to be done to tackle the spiralling increase of waste from electrical and electronic equipment. Six million tonnes were generated in 1998 and this figure is expected to grow by 3% to 5% every year. This is another milestone for the "polluter pays principle" in EU environmental legislation."

"We have received positive reactions from many companies in Wales to this law. Putting the onus on producers gives them a strong incentive to develop more environmentally friendly designs for their products which in turn will reduce the effect waste has on the environment. Following on from problems experienced by local authorities with legislation on disposing of fridges we have been pushing for the responsibility for funding collection to be placed on the producers. Amendments spelling this out were not passed but we will continue to press to ensure that local authorities don't have to face an extra burden with this law."

"The directive also sets ambitious targets for waste recycling and collection. The European Parliament increased the collection target from private households' waste from the 4kg originally suggested to 6 kg per year for every citizen"

Diwedd/Ends.