EucoLight Conference 2022 in Leuven

After two years of postponement, 60 delegates from 19 lighting WEEE compliance schemes have finally met for the EucoLight annual conference in Leuven hosted by the Belgian EucoLight member Recupel. This year, the conference was also available online for the members who could not make it to Belgium. High on the agenda were; the legislative framework for EEE and WEEE, developments in the field of lamp recycling, EPR Compliance and Online Sales, circular economy for lighting products, climate change mitigation and best practice sharing from EucoLight members.

The delegates were presented with insights also from external speakers; Rafael Jordan (Fraunhofer IZM), Christine Verkinderen (INDAVER), Julian Rinfret (Balcan Technologies), Arnaud Parenty (Lavoisier Circular Transition), Tom Van Troyen (Ovam), Star Molteno (Eunomia) and Michele Galatola (European Commission, DG GROW).

Update on relevant legislation impacting lighting products and their end of life

Members were updated by the Secretary Generals of LightingEurope and of EucoLight about the legislation impacting lighting products and their end of life, which includes, among others, the decisions on the RoHS exemptions, the Waste Framework Directive and WEEE Directive reviews and the Digital Services Act.

Recycling of lighting products

Recent developments in the field of recycling of lighting products, recyclability of materials, operational breakthrough, sorting at treatment centres, and use of artificial intelligence- the Conference was informed about how the use of some type of technology could help to make more effective the sorting and recycling of lighting products, and sampling of WEEE. Some examples were electromagnetic induction and artificial intelligence.

Sharing best practice

Representatives from Ambilamp (Spain), Ecolamp (Italy), Ecosystem (France), Ekolamp (Czech Republic), Elretur (Denmark), Lightcycle (Germany), LightRec (Netherlands), Recolight (United Kingdom), and Recupel (Belgium) presented their experience in different fields. For example, successful awareness and marketing campaigns to increase collection and recycling of lighting products, successful stakeholder outreach, EPR’s situation in their countries, and even a project of a smart container.

Online free-riding

Members got an overview of the legislative initiatives that have been taken not only at EU level but also at national level to address the online sale of non-compliant products, notably the absence of registration with an existing Producer Responsibility Organisation. It was interesting to hear about the different policy options by the consultant of the European Commission, Eunomia.

Circular economy and climate change mitigation

Members had the opportunity to hear about how the Lighting WEEE schemes can respond to the climate emergency, and to discuss the role of PROs on waste prevention, remanufacturing and reuse.

Sustainable Product initiative

The conference was also informed by a representative from the European Commission, DG GROW, about the Sustainable Product Initiative, and the role of the digital product passport, which will lead to increased information about products from a sustainability perspective.

Social media

Taking into account the importance of social media, the Marcom WG of EucoLight has presented the evolution of social media, trends for the future, and recommendations about how to improve members presence on social media to increase recycling and collection.

If you would like to know more, visit the EucoLight website where some materials from the Conference will also be available.