A new law has been enacted in the Province of Buenos Aires in connection with management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (hereinafter, "WEEE"). Law No. 14,321 was published in the Official Bulletin of the Province of Buenos Aires on December 15, 2011 (including certain notes established in the Enactment Decree No 2300/10) and became effective on December 23, 2011 (hereinafter, the "WEEE Law"). Below follows a summary of the main provisions of the WEEE Law.

1. Scope. The WEEE Law covers a wide list of categories of WEEE (Annex I) that are produced, marketed, and/or used in the Province of Buenos Aires. The defined categories are broad, and cover the following: (i) large appliances (e.g., washer-dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, ovens) (ii) small appliances (e.g., vacuum cleaners, sewing machines, coffee makers, clocks and watches), (iii) IT and communications equipment (e.g., personal computers, printers, cellphones); (iv) consumer electronic goods; (v) lighting equipment, (vi) electrical and electronic tools; (vii) toys, outdoor and sporting goods; (vii) medical equipment; (viii) surveillance and control equipment; and (ix) vending machines.

2. Prohibition. The WEEE Law prohibits disposal of WEEE as undifferentiated solid waste.

3. Main obligations. The WEEE Law establishes, among others, the following obligations to be performed by manufacturers, distributors and sellers of electrical and electronic equipment (hereinafter, "EEE"):

(i) marking the WEEE (and containers, instructions of use and warranty) with the waste container symbol crossed out (which indicates that WEEE may not be disposed of as undifferentiated solid waste);

(ii) establishing systems for receiving WEEE and their transportation to authorized treatment facilities;

(iii) receiving WEEE delivered by generators upon acquiring an equivalent EEE;

(iv) having facilities available to receive WEEE at sale stores covering areas larger than 500 square meters;

(v) adopting measures for selective collection of WEEE; and

(vi) providing information to users and filing information with a provincial Register to be created by the enforcement authority;

4. EEE Design. The WEEE Law establishes guidelines referring to design of EEE for the purposes of facilitating their disassembly and upgrading, reuse and recycling (which include limitations to the use of certain substances).

5. WEEE treatment. The WEEE Law provides that WEEE containing hazardous materials and components must be decontaminated and it also contains specific guidelines for their treatment.

6. Valorization. The WEEE Law provides that the enforcement authority and municipalities will guarantee that producers (either directly or indirectly) organize valorization systems for WEEE, either individually or jointly. It further establishes differentiated valorization objectives according to WEEE categories.

7. Term for compliance with the Law. Even though the WEEE Law provides in general that "manufacturers who market their products in the territory of the province of Buenos Aires will have a one-year term as from the effective date hereof to conform to the provisions set forth herein" performance of certain obligations could be required before such date (such as marking EEE put on the market since December 23, 2011, and furnishing information to WEEE managers within six months counted as from the effective date of the Law).

8. Penalties. The WEEE Law provides a penalty system which imposes certain penalties, such as warnings, fines, suspension of activities, closure of facilities and discontinuance of activities, stricter penalties in case of repeated infringements and joint and several liability of directors, administrators and/or managers in case infringements are committed by legal entities.

9. Enactment Decree. Partial Veto. Lastly, the Enactment Decree objected to different sections of the WEEE Law, mainly those related to the management of WEEE (return by users, reception points to be established by the authorities, requirements to be met by WEEE final disposal facilities, etc.), the funding of such management activities through the payment of a Special Fee and the Creation of a Monitoring and Follow-up Committee.

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