With technological advancess and changing trends, the life span of products, particularly in the IT and telecommunications sectors, is on the decline. The growing consumerism in these sectors is fuelling growth in the EEE markets, and shorter product life spans favour plastics because of increased consumption.
A new EU legislation (Directive 2002/96/EC) regarding the collection and recycling of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) came into effect on 13th August 2005. This means that producers of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) will now have to finance the end-of-life recycling and recovery costs of all their products. This will lead to introduction of product design changes by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which plastics processors will have to adapt to.

Among the many repercussions of the design changes will be possible standardization of grades and a gradual reduction of the variety of plastics used in EEE products. A wider range of plastics makes the recycling process difficult and expensive due to the separation involved prior to the shredding of material. Polypropylene (PP) could find greater application as they can be easily modified to cover a wider property range, thereby reducing the variety of plastics in appliances.
The variable recyclability of different plastics will also become a determining factor when OEMs choose the plastics to be used in EEE products. Plastics that are easier to recycle will command better value, thus Monomaterial (unfilled) plastics or unblended and crystalline polymers will be favoured. On the other hand, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other polymers that are not easily recyclable will progressively lose value. In addition, coloured plastics that do not require paint or finish coatings will become more popular, since removal of coatings is time-consuming.
With the increased emphasis on recyclability, some additive producers are starting to market additives to improve the quality of recycled plastics. While a few additives have been specifically designed for the task, most of them such as compatibilizers and chain extenders are familiar chemistries that are finding new applications. However, recyclers are hesitant to use them as they feel that they are not economical, due to the low price of recyclates.
Since some essential plastics in EEE are difficult as well as expensive to recycle, it is imperative that plastics producers support the development of recycling technologies that simplify the process and make it financially viable. Some advances in this area are the development of automatic sorting, improvement of machinery used to process recycled plastics and extraction of halogenated flame-retardant.

Plastics for the EEE markets are usually a small fraction of the plastics producer's total business. Most producers do not consider the EEE markets as a major focus, preferring to invest in larger sectors such as automotives or packaging. However, this consumer-driven market calls for stable growth and consequently, continuous demand for plastics. As a result, plastics producers have the opportunity to use the new legislations to gain business by improving and demonstrating the recyclability of their products.