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Old electronic devices shorter than 25 cm can be brought to big stores without the obligation to buy anything in return.
Returning to the store your old cellphone or a broken electric razor without buying a new one and without having to go all the way to a recycling centre? It will be possible from July 22nd thanks to the entry into force of a ministerial decree introducing the “one for zero” rule. It will be possible to throw away small-sized WEEE (home appliances or little electric or electronic equipment under 25 cm) in specific containers set up in big electronics stores.
The idea of “one for zero” was born two years ago with the Legislative Decree 49/2014 which regulated the management of WEEE (Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment). The decree confirmed the rule of “one for one”, meaning the opportunity to bring back to a store an old electronic device when buying a new one, and also introduced the idea of “one for zero”. The application of the new rule, however, had to wait until the entry into force of the implementing decree which was published in the Official Gazette just last week.
“The aim of this decree is to prevent the small and big everyday-use electronic devices from becoming a waste after they are no longer used, which would be a cost for everyone – explained Environment Minister Gianluca Galletti, who signed the decree – As proven by the positive feedback of the WEEE collection system in Italy, these devices have the potential to become a resource in the circular economy chain. Italy has been making great efforts in this direction, and from today we have one more useful instrument to promote it”.
Now it will be up to electronics stores to organize the collection of small-sized WEEE: every store with a surface larger than 400 square metres will have to collect electronic waste. The collection service must be free of charge, and the customers are not obligated to buy a new product in return.
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