Waste Disposal

Kerry McCarthy
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the meeting of EU Member States in Brussels on 26 June regarding the Restrictions on Hazardous Substances and Waste Electrical Equipment Directives; and whether a decision was reached as to whether pipe organs would fall within the scope of these Directives.

Malcolm Wicks
It was certainly never envisaged that these directives would apply to church and other pipe organs, although there was some legal uncertainty in the final text.

Following the meeting held in Brussels on 26 June, the European Commission has clarified that pipe organs are outside the scope of the new rules.

I am, therefore, very pleased to confirm that the legal uncertainties have now been resolved and pipe organs are considered to be clearly outside the scope of the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directives.