Brussels, 21 March 2012, PV CYCLE, Europe’s only fully operational, collective take-back and recycling service for end-of-life PV modules, presented its WEEE-compliance roadmap at its 2012 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday.
Launched in 2007 as a voluntary initiative by producers of PV modules, PV CYCLE has collected a significant amount of PV module waste across Europe through its comprehensive infrastructure for collection and recycling in all EU27 and EFTA countries. PV CYCLE is currently working on becoming a fully WEEE-compliant scheme and has already been successfully executing the main principles of the recast WEEE Directive, soon to include the regulation of PV modules. In light of this, the organization unveiled a dedicated information campaign which aims to educate the industry’s stakeholders about the capabilities of the PV CYCLE scheme and the importance of an industry-managed take-back and recycling service.
“Our WEEE-compliance roadmap is in full swing. We are in intensive discussions with national stakeholders and focus our energy on the development of practicable requirements,” explained Jan Clyncke, Managing Director at PV CYCLE, on the main pillars of the organization’s 2012 strategy. “We are convinced that a harmonized WEEE-regulation across Europe will increase overall collection and recycling rates and will help to keep the European PV market viable.”
PV CYCLE intends to represent the entire operational process of reporting, collecting and recycling its members’ end-of-life PV modules, including the related financing. “Together with our members, PV CYCLE is currently working on establishing a long-term financial model,” said Holger Hoppe, Treasurer of PV CYCLE, at the AGM in Brussels. “PV CYCLE has a strong financial foundation and offers a program that is designed to maximize cost-effectiveness.” By offering a dedicated collection and recycling service, PV CYCLE can avoid potential surcharges through unnecessary sorting, contamination with other materials or inefficient recycling technologies.
Source: PV CYCLE