legal.alien
04.02.04, 10:15
www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004051968,00.html
By DAVID WOODING
RED-faced women will have to hand in their clapped-out sex toys under a new
EU law.
They must take back old vibrators for recycling before they can buy a new one.
Last night shop bosses feared having to handle up to two million a year —
putting up prices.
The embarrassing prospect reared its ugly head after a small group of MEPs
and civil servants rushed through environment-friendly rules at a meeting
behind closed doors.
They FORGOT to list exemptions to the Waste Electrical Equipment Directive —
or WEE Directive — which is aimed at stopping household goods ending up
dumped in landfill sites.
As a result, the directive applies to battery-operated devices ranging from
musical greetings cards to vibrators.
Under the law from August 2005 worn out sex toys should be fixed and resold.
Even if there is no market for the second-hand vibrators, more than 80 per
cent of the parts must be reused.
A spokesman for the Ann Summers chain of stores said: “We hope our customers
wear out before our toys do.
“But we’d definitely need guidance of how to dispose of our toys. I mean it’s
not like leaving a TV out for the dustman, is it?”
Martin Jay, co-editor of the Brussels-based Sprout mag, said: “This is fine
in principle but impossible to police without weekly Europe-wide inspections
of the contents of people’s bin bags.”
Tory MP David Amess said: “This new law will come as a blow to many thousands
of people.
“It is yet another example of a crazy, ill-thought-out European directive. It
will result in some very embarrassing disclosures.
“This law should end up where any person would deposit unwanted private
items — in the dustbin.”
It will cover some 250 household items running on mains or battery power,
requiring all with a rating below 1,000 volts to be returned “once its
natural life has expired”.