ITALIANCurrently – pursuit of an ongoing commitment
ReMedia is the main multi-category Collective System in Italy with 1000 member firms involved in all areas of EEE, notably in consumer electronics, household appliances, IT equipment, telecommunications, air conditioning, toys, clocks, and musical instruments.
It provides a set of integrated services for managing WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) both from households and from non-household sources for all classes of product.
ReMedia, thanks to its scale, quality, and innovation, is the provider of a single, all-embracing WEEE-management service, and in doing so guarantees not just proper compliance with legal requirements, but also optimum use of economic resources and standards of excellence in disposing with equipment at the end of its life cycle.
2008 - a multi-category leader
On 24th January 2008 ReMedia made its first collection of household waste in Italy, so starting operation of the new WEEE-management system, as required in Italian Legislative Decree 151/05. During this first year of activity the number of collections made by ReMedia was 13,000, resulting in the treatment and recycling of 21,376 tonnes of household WEEE.
During the first three months ReMedia tripled the number of firms in the consortium, arriving at a membership of 1000. On the basis of the number and the types of its members, ReMedia is the main multi-category consortium in Italy.
Additional trade associations chose to give their endorsement to the consortium. They were: Assoprom (Association of Producers and Distributors of Advertising and Promotional Articles), Unidi (National Union of Italian Dental Firms), Ancad (Association of Sellers of Dental Items), and Ascomut, (Association of Dealers in Machine Tools). An agreement was also signed with ETC Electronics Testing Center (Taiwan), a leading body giving technical and legal back-up to electronics manufacturers, so that firms from the Far East based abroad but with WEEE-selling operations in Italy can comply with the regulations in Italy.
ReMedia concluded an agreement with Ecodom and Ecolamp - the leading consortia, respectively, for large household appliances and lighting equipment - in order to optimize its logistical management of WEEE, thereby guaranteeing a high qualitative performance and environmental protection.
ReMedia was involved in action to raise awareness and provide information about WEEE. This included projects with its own members (Recycle Day at Motorola), brochures with information for the local authority collection sites it serves, and an itinerant re-cycling locomotive (Remigia) to acquaint younger generations with the issue of technological waste.
2007 - a major player in the WEEE-management system in Italy
ReMedia played a decisive role in setting up the new WEEE system in Italy. Indeed, it was one of the Collective Systems that was most energetic in establishing the Co-ordinating Centre, in finalizing the agreements with the contributors to the system – such as large-scale retailing organizations, waste recovery operators, and local authorities, as well as in interfacing with national agencies, public authorities, trade associations, and environmentalist and consumer bodies.
In April the Co-ordinating Centre was formed and the General Manager of ReMedia, Danilo Bonato, became a member of its Executive Committee.
Following the issue of Decree no. 185 of 5th November the new WEEE-management system was introduced into Italy, too. ReMedia settled on the financing schemes it would adopt and determined that the WEEE eco-levy would be payable by its members as of 12th of November.
The number of consortium members rose dramatically, reaching 300 in December.
ReMedia concluded the process of selecting partners that would assure it both nationwide coverage and a level of excellence in the quality of WEEE treatment.
2006 - progress on the route to quality
ReMedia took shape organisationally: a competent and efficient team was formed and became operational as early as July.
The number of members grew steadily: in 2006 alone ReMedia saw 100 enrolments, with over 60 in the second half of the year.
A new association gave its endorsement to the Consortium in July - Assogiocattoli, the Italian Association of Producers of Games, Christmas Decorations, and Items for Children.
A careful selection of partners for the collection, carriage, and disposal of household WEEE was carried out by holding prequalification rounds in May and June. Following this, in July, an invitation to tender was published. After months of hard work ReMedia completed its selection of the partners for logistics and treatment that would gave it coverage nationwide. With regard to non-household WEEE an agreement was signed with CEVA Logistics.
In October ReMedia became a participant of WEEE Forum, a highly regarded non-profit association of leading European Collective Systems, and in conjunction with the other systems promoted the entry of Italy.
2005 – ReMedia, a direct representative of industry, begins life
ReMedia began life at the end of 2005 as an initiative promoted by 44 key manufacturers in the consumer electronics and information technology sector and endorsed by the leading trade associations and federations in that sector. These associations included: Anie (National Federation of Electro-technical and Electronic Producers), a member of the Confindustria (Confederation of Italian Industry), Andec (National Association of Importers and Producers of Electronics), Dismamusica (musical instruments), and Assorologi (Producers and Distributors of Clocks), who are members of the Distributive Trades Confederation in Italy.
ReMedia was formed as a response to Legislative Decree no. 151 of 25th July 2005 and to the need of the firms affected to prepare for its introduction. The legislation laid a duty on producers and importers – those, for example, supplying consumer electronics, information technology, telecommunications, conditioning equipment, toys, clocks, and musical instruments – to organise and fund the treatment and recycling of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
In December the operations of the Consortium were extended to all of the equipment categories listed in Decree 151/05.
