Environmentalists, on the other hand, argue that there is plenty of scientific evidence of health problems caused by lead, mercury and other substances that would be banned by the EU legislation.
"Whenever you're proposing legislation, there will be conflicting science, and we think there is compelling science that these are substances of concern," the EU's Jessen says.
Adds Michael Bender, a consultant at the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition's Clean Computer Campaign, "I think the EU is finally turning the tables on industry and shifting the burden of proof of whether products are safe or unsafe to them."
Take-back and recycling are only part of the solution, environmentalists say. They argue that manufacturers need to make it easier to recycle their products and find ways to use less hazardous substances to reduce the health risk from products that do end up in landfills.
Many used electronics will "end up in municipal waste" sites, the European Environmental Bureau's Lymberidi says. "I'm not sure the circle is closed by a high recycling and collection rate" alone.
In fact, the EU may propose a plan to push electronics producers to design their products to be more environmentally friendly and more easily recyclable. While insisting the plan is still in the discussion stages, Annika Ostergren, a spokeswoman at the European Commission's environment directorate, says such a proposal would aim to force "producers to think about products from the cradle to the grave."
Industry representatives cringe at the prospects of such a proposal, fearing it will dictate how they should design their products. If they require producers to design their products in a certain way, governments may be "closing the door on alternatives, while alternatives may be better," Matthews says.
But Ostergren argues that industry will benefit in the long run because consumers want to buy "green" products as long as they're reasonably priced.
The industry's worries about governments dictating product design are overblown, says Davis at the Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies. They are "not going to tell them how to make a printed circuit board."
