Regulations concerning the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the Flanders (Flemish) Region are implemented by amendments to the Waste Prevention and Management Ordinance (VLAREA) and came into force on December 1st 2004. For equipment that you buy from Corning after August 13th 2005, Corning is required to finance the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of WEEE that your new purchase replaces, on a one-for-one, like-for-like basis. The old equipment that your new purchase from Corning replaces is referred to as Historic WEEE.

Under VLAREA, Corning is also required to finance the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of any new electrical and electronic equipment that you buy from Corning after August 13th 2005, when that new equipment eventually becomes waste. This is referred to as New WEEE.

Corning products are very competitively priced. Any new increase in operating costs for manufacturers such as Corning is normally reflected in a price increase in the product. However, instead of increasing the prices of our products, Corning has decided to share these new environmental costs directly with our customers. We believe in being transparent with you on any new environmental costs that our products need to address.

Our approach to sharing these new environmental costs is:

• Corning pays for the costs of treatment, recycling and recovery of the WEEE to meet the targets set by the VLAREA;
• Corning pays for the costs of data management and reporting to the Flemish Environment Agency (OVAM) to demonstrate compliance with all administrative requirements of VLAREA;
• You pay for transportation of your WEEE to Corning's appointed recycler in Belgium.

Corning has established a recycling contract with the European Advanced Recycling Network (EARN) and will cover any costs of treatment, recycling and recovery of the equipment on arrival at the EARN facility in Belgium. All New WEEE that arises from the purchase of Corning products is classed as non-hazardous waste.

It is your responsibility to arrange and pay for costs of collection and transportation to EARN. In order to meet the requirements for waste disposal in Belgium, you should use one of the following carriers (which will hold a valid Waste Carriers licence prior to producer take-back obligations beginning in Belgium):

For larger quantities of waste you may wish to contact the recycler directly in order to arrange and pay for an alternative collection method. The Corning Recycler in Belgium is:

To comply with Belgian Waste Regulations, all waste must be accompanied by suitable documentation. Under Belgian Waste Regulations you are also required to keep a copy of this documentation for a minimum of five years.

In order to meet this requirement and to enable EARN to identify Corning equipment upon arrival at the recyclers' address, please download the Recycling Label for Belgian Customers. Complete the label with your company details and attach it to a suitable box for transport to EARN. This meets the requirement that your waste must be accompanied by suitable documentation when in transport to the recycler.