CWIT

The aim of the CWIT – Countering WEEE Illegal Trade – project is to provide a set of recommendations to support the European Commission, law enforcement authorities, and customs organisations, countering the illegal trade of WEEE in and from Europe.

The project will collect, study, and identify gaps in the current legislation in place at the International and European level such as the European Commission Directives on hazardous substances in products placed on the market in Europe and their treatment:
• A Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
• A Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment

In addition, the CWIT project, through intensive data collection, information gathering process, and an intelligence-based approach, will:
• analyse the involvement of organized crime in the global distribution of WEEE;
• analyse criminal activity and crime types associated with illegal WEEE shipments, draw on other work being carried out targeting illegal e-waste exports on an international scale;
• estimate the true volume of WEEE generated and the amounts inappropriately disposed of;
• assess the typology of companies (and brokers) involved in the export market and identifying those with a criminal history; and
• develop detailed understanding of the destinations and routes used to carry illegal shipments, to possibly enable contacts with regulators and enforcers in destination countries.

The CWIT project plans to develop a set of recommendations:
• to the end user community that could improve the response to the illegal trade in WEEE;
• to the European Commission and its member states related to future research and technologies.

Finally the CWIT project will ensure a multi-layer platform for exchange of information among the end-users consisting of law enforcement authorities, customs organisations, policy makers, etc... enabling them to better prevent and respond to the illegal trade of WEEE.