OfiRAEE SCRAPs ask Miteco for a moratorium on meeting the 2020 collection targets because of the Covid-19 crisis

OfiRAEE SCRAPs ask Miteco for a moratorium on meeting the 2020 collection targets because of the Covid-19 crisis

• In the two months of lockdown, the sale of electrical and electronic equipment has dropped 65%

• WEEE management declined in March and April 2020 by 50% compared to the same period in the previous year

The SCRAPs (Spain's Extended Producer Responsibility Schemes) that fall under OfiRAEE (Spain's WEEE Coordination Office) and represent 97% of responsibility for WEEE management in Spain, have asked the deputy chair and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (Miteco) for a moratorium on meeting the 2020 WEEE collection targets because of the Covid-19 health crisis.

"The lockdown, the closure of electrical appliance outlets, logistical constraints and the closure of most recycling points and municipal separated waste collection centres for two months, has led to a reduction of more than 50% of the volume of WEEE compared to the same period in previous years," says Juan Carlos Enrique, OfiRAEE's current president.

Although the consequences for the 2020 financial year are currently uncertain, the SCRAPs expect that the 2020 collection targets calculated by Miteco will not be met, as they estimate a 25% drop in sales of electrical and electronic equipment in 2020. This decline is expected to continue, albeit to a lesser extent, in 2021.