Samenvatting

This thesis is an overview of the market and management for WEEE (waste of electrical
and electronic equipment) in Bulgaria. It was executed to answer certain questions to
WEEE Forum, which was my internship provider.
Chapter 2 analyzes the WEEE market and business developments in Bulgaria. Chapter
2.1 is a detailed overview of the legal basis for WEEE management in Bulgaria and how
the WEEE Directive is implemented and transposed in the Bulgarian legislation. Directive
2002/96/EC and its obligations are crucial for the WEEE market in Bulgaria, since it
provides guidelines for management, sets targets for the recyclers and appoints
responsibilities to the specific stakeholders involved. Currently, the legislation of Bulgaria
fulfills the requirements of the Directive, however new piece of legislation has to be
created to clarify and define EEE, WEEE, prevention, distributor/importer, WEEE from
households and financial agreement.
In chapter 2.2 there is a definition of the WEEE market and key terms used to describe it.
Definition of all 10 categories of electrical and electronic waste is present, also what is
WEEE in detail and key terms such as treatment, recovery and historic waste.
In chapter 2.3 the market size for WEEE is defined along with the conclusion that Bulgaria
will reach the target of the Directive of 4kg per inhabitant in 2009 and also that between
2010 and 2015 there will be a gradual growth of the market with 1.4% yearly. Following is
chapter 2.4, which explains the market segmentation firstly of EEE and then of WEEE.
There is a detailed overview of number of producers, importers and retailers of EEE
(future WEEE) and also the exact segmentation per category of waste. The latter shows
that categories 1, 2, 3 & 4 have the biggest share of WEEE- 89% and the leader in this
market are the large household appliances (category 1) with 55.8%.
Chapter 2.5, which provides the reader with the structure of the recycling and recovery
industry in Bulgaria. Key figures in the industry are Ecobultech (the only take-back system
in Bulgaria) and Nadin Commerce (authorized by Ecobultech to store and transport
WEEE). Following this chapter is 2.6 Stakeholders strategic groupings, which provides
the reader with information regarding the Ministry of Environment and waters and other
stakeholders in the WEEE management like CECED Bulgaria and BCEE.
In the end of chapter 2.7 there is a conclusion that good strategic planning has to take
place for transportation, promotion, information streams, control and monitoring of WEEE.
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Furthermore, suggestions for improvements are present in chapter 2.8 Threats. In
particular better liaison between the various units and structures that handle WEEE and
additionally the lack of a competitor for the current take back system is seen as a huge
threat for the WEEE market and the Bulgarian state as a whole.
Chapter 2.9 Opportunities gives few ideas for the management of the WEEE market, such
as the opportunity for creating a technology or recycling plant for the plastics and
hazardous waste that is not covered by the Bulgarian recyclers and it is exported abroad.
Chapter 2.10 is a summary of all chapters discussed in section 2.
Chapters between 3.1 and 3.8 are an analysis of the 8 Ps in Marketing. With the product
analysis one can see that the life cycle of EEE products is getting shorter, therefore there
is a trend for bigger amounts of certain categories of WEEE - such as 3 and 4. When
describing the "Place" in chapter 3.2 there is an explanation why the targets of kg per
inhabitant increase - the decline of the Bulgarian population in this case. Chapter 3.3
People explains the malpractices of the Bulgarian citizen when it comes to disposal of
EEE waste and the phenomena of a grey market for WEEE - the gypsy population.
Chapter 3.4 Price suggests that the product fee charge for WEEE is higher than some
other countries in the region due to lack of competition on the Bulgarian market. Like for
category 1B €0.59 in BG and €0.19 in Czech Republic. In 3.5 Promotion, it is explained
that even though that there is a encouragement for separate WEEE disposal and
collection, the reality is that these promotional strategies are few and not effective.
Chapter 3.6 Politics suggests that the country is politically stable, however still having
coercive practices that resulted in the termination of EU funding towards Bulgaria.
Chapter 3.7 explains that the transportation costs for WEEE are 27% of the whole
operational costs - €150 and €450-600 when exported per ton. Chapter 3.8 Presentation
shows that the WEEE is labeled correctly with the sign mentioned in the Directive.
Chapter 4 is a detailed financial analysis of the management of WEEE in Bulgaria. A
collection point for example costs €250 000. Chapter 5 is a detailed comparison between
Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania and Czech Republic in their practices of handling WEEE.
The conclusion is that Bulgaria has to follow the example of the Czechs. Chapter 6 has
recommendations and an overview of the future scenarios for the market of WEEE
between 2009 and 2015.