Introduction

Summary

RAEcycle is a collective waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) take-back system set up as a non-profit consortium joint-stock company in compliance with Italian legislative decree no. 151/2005.

RAEcycle is a member of the WEEE coordination centre established with Italian ministerial decree 185/2007, and is enrolled at no. IT07121000008 on the Register of Producers in the subsection reserved for WEEE collective take-back financing systems.
RAEcycle is the only consortium operating in Italy that is capable of providing direct and integrated management of any type of WEEE, from domestic (B2C) to professional (B2B). It offers a simple and transparent pay-to-use services contract.
Over 400 companies, from small, local high-tech manufacturers to major multinationals in the electronics and IT sectors — all of whom share a concern for the wellbeing of the environment — have chosen RAEcycle to handle their WEEE.
 
History
 
RAEcycle was founded in 2004 by a primary company operating in the IT and consumer electronics sector. Its original purpose was to fulfil the dispositions of EU directive 2002/96/CE (WEEE Directive), subsequently assimilated into Italian law via legislative decree no. 151 of 25 July 2005.

 

The latter identifies in the producers, distributors and importers of electrical and electronic goods those subjects who generate waste and who are therefore responsible for its disposal as well as the costs deriving therefrom. The Directive in question demands that producers arrange, manage and finance WEEE collection and treatment systems in full respect of all environmental laws currently in force. At any rate, the original 2004 project was subsequently expanded, giving birth in 2006 to RAEcycle.

 

This was established with the purpose of assisting producers in fulfilling their environmental obligations vis-à-vis transportation, reuse, treatment, retrieval, recycling and disposal of WEEE beginning 1 September 2007 (i.e. the date on which executive ministerial decree no. 185/2007 enforced the provisions of the aforementioned legislative decree no. 151/2005).
RAEcycle can guarantee an integrated, effective and efficient management of WEEE with due regard for the environment, in the interests of consumers and producers and at the lowest costs possible, the latter being understood not solely in financial terms but also, and above all, in general environmental impact terms. RAEcycle thus puts itself forward as a point of reference for the application of WEEE laws and guarantees outsourcing members correct fulfilment of their legal obligations as regards collection, transportation, recycling and treatment of WEEE, optimisation of the economic resources set aside for these purposes, administration of the eco-contribution and the raising of public awareness as regards the way the system operates and, in particular, the underlying concern for the environment that informs it.
 
Mission

The increasing production of EEE and the constant diminution of the average product life cycle has led to levels of WEEE in Europe that are growing at three times the average rate of rubbish in general. To understand better the impact this has on the environment it is enough to think that, in Italy alone, about 1 million tonnes of EEE were placed on the market in 2007.
Until the introduction of the European WEEE and RoHS (Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances) directives, technological waste had not been systematically taken into consideration, to say nothing of its being treated or reused. The upshot of this was that, more often than not, WEEE was simply dumped in rubbish tips, with all the grave repercussions for the environmental safety and public health that this action brought in its train.
RAEcycle is determined to promote a sustainable development mentality in the EEE industry and to do so with the intention of establishing correct and effective treatment of end-of-life products using the most cutting-edge technologies currently available on the market. It is in this perspective that, on behalf of outsourcing members, we work to ensure:
•    collection (where foreseen), transport, recycling and treatment of end-of-life EEE;
•    administration management of the eco-contribution;
•    a public awareness-raising campaign;
•    R&D into innovative, environmentally friendly recycling and disposal methods in cooperation with universities;
•    the setting up low environmental impact WEEE treatment plants, the purpose of which is to retrieve and recycle the highest percentage possible of raw materials.

Strong points

The very name RAEcycle is enough to give an idea of our specificity compared to other collective take-back systems. Our target is not so much the disposal of WEEE, regardless of how eco friendly this process may be, as much as the development of a procedure that guarantees the highest possible percentage of recycling of raw materials from WEEE treatment. It should be noted, indeed, that this practice is envisaged in a reform of the EU's WEEE directive that should be implemented by the end of 2008. In order to reduce the environmental impact of WEEE to a minimum, percentages of disposed waste must be as low as possible in relation to the total amount of non-reusable product treated.
Compared to other WEEE collective take-back systems, RAEcycle reveals several unique features from which a number of significant advantages flow.
First of all, its juridical form as a consortium joint-stock company (rather than simply a consortium) means that outsourcing companies do not have to shoulder any financial burden or risk deriving from the need to top up consortium funds or contribute to yearly fees for the maintenance of the consortium and/or the settling of debts. Capital has been, and will continue to be, invested only by shareholders and not by outsourcers who, however, are alone responsible for covering the charges deriving from the treatment of the WEEE they produce (expressed in Euro/Kg).
Secondly, upkeep costs of the collective take-back system are covered by the secondary raw materials retrieved and sold to specialist companies. This in fact explains RAEcycle's higher levels of competitiveness compared to other take-back systems who, unlike us, do not avail of their own premises and are therefore forced to subcontract the handling of WEEE to third parties!
Finally, it is clearly not by chance that RAEcycle is the only collective take-back system that applies a commercial and industrial logic to the WEEE problem. Our statute in fact envisages the possibility of building or acquiring new WEEE treatment plants as well the development of methodologies and patents for same. To this end, the statute also provides for a scientific committee as well as ongoing collaboration with university research units. All other collective take-back systems and consortiums on the market define themselves solely as “waste intermediaries”.
As well as all of the above, RAEcycle ensure for all its outsourcing members:
•    preventive information and consultancy services for the fulfilment of legal requirements;
•    collection, transportation, recycling and treatment of end-of-life EEE using the most cutting-edge technologies currently available on the market;
•    administration management;
•    public communications and awareness-raising campaigns;
•    updates on regulations and other information services in and through constant dialogue.
 
Organisation chart
 
Chief Operations Officer:
Piervittorio Trebucchi
Board of Directors:
Chairman: Giuseppe Ziliani
Vice Chairman: Emmanouil Volakakis
Member: Edoardo Brianzi
 
Board of Auditors:
Chairman: Maurizio Bacchiega
Regular auditor: Stefano Righettini
Regular auditor: Aldo Massimo Rossi
Alternate auditor: Alessandro Malerba
Alternate auditor: Roberto Zola
 
Technical-Scientific Committee:

Prof. Ing. Diego d' Urso

Prof. Ing. Lucio Compagno
Ing. Oriana Recca