WEEE is an important source of raw materials, which can be recovered if managed correctly. The recovery targets of WEEE are far from being achieved in Italy and in the rest of the European Union, even if Tuscany is one of the most performing territories in Italy in terms of separate waste collection. The culture of waste separation is widespread and represents an appropriate context where new and pervasive methodologies and governance models can be tested to improve the WEEE collection system. The analysis of the Tuscan territorial context shows some key issues that must be addressed in order to achieve the objectives set by Directive 2012/19 / EU and highlights the main targets of the actions:

- citizens/consumers do not have sufficient knowledge about the management and disposal of WEEE
- companies involved in the installation or distribution of electrical and electronic equipment are scarcely involved in the collection and are faced with complicated bureaucratic procedures for the management of WEEE
- the lack of information and communication activities on WEEE by institutions and competent subjects means that the participation of consumers in the collection, reuse, treatment and recovery of WEEE is compromised

PROJECT ACTIONS

The actions envisaged by the project aim to provide tools that facilitate and incentivize behavior change. In summary we aim to:
- improve regional governance model aiming to encourage citizens and businesses to manage the collection of WEEE more carefully   and to foster the collaboration and information exchange among institutions, as stated in Art. 18 of Directive 2012/19;

- support local administrations with training and information actions for institutional actors in order to improve services to citizens
- develop a system of services and incentives for SMEs, with the creation of a green network of SMEs as capillary collection point
- develop IT tools for businesses and citizens: a software and guidelines for the simplification of administrative and bureaucratic activities that businesses must undertake to allow the collection of WEEE on their premises and an App that will allow users to easily identify the nearest sites collection
- an awareness campaign to raise public awareness on the topic and provide adequate information to citizens and businesses
- testing the replicability and transferability of the project results through the implementation of actions in Andalusia.
 
EXPECTED RESULTS

With the project the objectives set in Annex V of Directive 2012/19/EU in the territory of the Tuscany Region are pursued. It is expected to involve companies that operate in the distribution of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) obliged or potentially interested in the management of WEEE (at least 50% in Tuscany and 75% in Andalusia on an estimated number of 5000/6000 in Tuscany and 2500 in Andalusia) to increase the number of collection points and make it easier for citizens to start recovering such waste.
We want to involve at least 50% of the Municipalities of the Tuscany Region in the project activities aimed at improving the quality and dissemination of information on WEEE available to citizens.
For companies involved in the collection and management of WEEE, simplification of administrative procedures is pursued through the development of specific IT tools.
The integrated governance model will then be successfully transferred to Andalusia.