Another European recycling proposal is under fire -- this time by electronics makers opposed to being required to 'take back' old PCs and appliances. Automakers have been lobbying against a similar proposal for their industry, and in the electronics case the European Commission is asking producers worldwide to fill out an online form on how they would be impacted. The commission, which proposes legislation for the European Union, promises "utmost confidentiality" on its questionnaire. The proposal would make electronics makers responsible for dealing with products once their useful life is completed. That, in turn, is supposed to get companies to design products that are more recyclable. It's not just computers that would be affected. Any household appliances, cell phones, medical equipment, and even toys that use electronics, would fall under the proposal's requirements. Producers would have to:

• Eliminate certain heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, in all new products as of 2004.
• Collect "end of life" equipment they made or contribute to a pool system that does this collectively.

Retailers would be obliged to take back products from consumers and then send them along to producers. roducers would then pass the used products on to recyclers, who would have to:

• Remove all fluids and lead, mercury and other heavy metals.
• Recycle between 70 percent and 90 percent of the product.

The American Electronics Association says it shares the European Commission's goals, but not its means of trying to minimise waste and increase recycling. In a letter last month to Vice President Al Gore, the industry group cited two areas of concern: 1. Material bans, design requirements. These "have been proposed without any analysis of their impact on product safety, reliability or performance; the availability or cost of potential substitutes; or the environmental impact of using such alternatives," the letter said. "Accordingly, these provisions go far beyond the establishment of environmental standards applicable to 'waste' of electrical and electronic equipment, and will hamper global trade of high-tech products, impede technological innovation and fail to benefit the environment." 2. Taking back products. This makes industry and high-tech importers responsible for what consumers and local governments should also be involved in, the group claimed. "We believe the commission should consider more efficient and environmentally sound approaches, leveraging existing programs and sharing the cost among all stakeholders in the product life cycle. Collection and recycling targets should also be market-driven, realistic and based on empirical evidence developed over time," the industry said. Among environmentalists, a Silicon Valley group is leading a campaign to get public support for Europe's initiative, arguing it would set the benchmark for electronics sold in the United States as well. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition is also seeking a phase-out of several toxic chemicals used in the production of computers and semiconductors. Ted Smith, coordinator of the Campaign for Responsible Technology, said that while millions of computers have been "junked" over the past few years, the rate of recycling has decreased due to a lack of effective systems or policies. Industry's "planned obsolescence" policy of frequently introducing upgraded products threatens to make the disposal problem worse, he added. Electronic waste, Smith said, is typically dumped in landfills, incinerated or shipped to China, where it is disassembled and then burned. These methods all threaten to release a variety of toxic substances including plastics, lead, mercury and solvents into the environment, he said. The European initiative on electronics is parallel to one for the auto industry, which last week intensified its lobbying against mandatory recycling. The European Commission could send its final electronics proposal this autumn to the European Parliament, which would then vote on the measure.