1. Maria Banti DG ENVIRONMENT The Countering WEEE Illegal Trade (CWIT) Project CWIT Final Conference June 2015 Lyon, France

2. The CWIT project Type of Project 7th Framework Program
Duration of the project
2 years
Starting date
September 2013
Project partners
International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL, FR)
United Nations University (UNU, JP)
Zanasi & Partners (ZP, IT)
Compliance & risks Ltd (C2P, IE)
Cross Border research association (CBRA, CH)
United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI, IT)
WEEE Forum (BE)
Project Coordinator
INTERPOL

3. The activities of the CWIT project
understanding the involvement of organized crime in the global distribution of WEEE;
analyzing criminal activity and crime types associated with illegal WEEE shipments,
drawing on other work being carried out targeting illegal WEEE exports on an international scale;
estimating the true volume of WEEE generated and the amounts inappropriately disposed of;
assessing the typology of companies (and brokers) involved in the export market and identifying those with a criminal history;
developing detailed understanding of the destinations and routes used to carry illegal shipments, to possibly enable contacts with regulators and enforcers in destination countries.

4. The CWIT project
This action is expected to identify and propose potential solutions based on a thorough analysis of:
• hurdles and challenges at the source (including the role of local waste sites in the illegal export of electric and electronic equipment waste (WEEE)),
• judicial bottlenecks and strategies for improvement of enforcement.

5. The CWIT project
The challenges relate to the assessment of illegal activities and the present lack of data, and impact should be measured against such background.

6. The CWIT project- Expected results
The action is expected to support intelligence-led policing and advance collective knowledge about crime, organised crime and associated risks. It is expected to benefit and support to different EU policies, including:
Implementation of the Waste Shipment Regulation
Implementation of the EU Communication on “Tackling the Challenges in Commodity Markets and Raw Materials”
Implementation of the WEEE directive, with regard to collection and recycling targets
Generally support to EU 2020 objectives with regard to energy efficiency and resource efficiency.

7. Thank you! For more information:
Commission's WEEE web-site:
Contact Details:
Maria Banti