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WEEE Directive

The WEEE Directive aims to prevent the production and disposal of WEEE, largely through the introduction of reuse and recycling targets. It also aims to improve the environmental performance of all operators involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment. In particular, considerable obligations will be imposed on “Producers” i.e. those businesses who manufacture electrical and electronic equipment, rebrand equipment produced by other manufacturers, or who import such equipment into the European Union.

The Directive applies to all Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) that is dependant on electrical currents and electromagnetic fields with voltage rating not exceeding 1000 Volt for AC and 1500 Volt for DC. EEE is considered within ten specific categories as detailed in Annex 1A of the Directive. These are: large household appliances; small household appliances; IT and telecommunications equipment; consumer equipment; lighting equipment; electrical and electronic tools; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices; monitoring and control instruments; and automatic dispensers.

Key provisions of the Directive are:

• member states must set up systems for separate collection of WEEE and ensure that at least 4kg of WEEE from private households is collected per inhabitant per year
• producers must set up systems for the treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment (with the WEEE treatment facilities required to operate at high environmental standards)
• producers to provide for recovery and re-use of separately collected WEEE with recovery, re-use and recycling targets set as a proportion of collected WEEE and ranging from 50 to 80 percent depending on the category
• data reporting obligations relating to the amount of EEE put on the market and relevant levels of recycling achieved must be fulfilled
• there is no mandatory requirement for householders to separate all WEEE, Member States must instead seek to minimise co-disposal and encourage appropriate behaviour
• thirty months after the entry into force of the WEEE Directive, producers must provide for the financing of the collection of WEEE from private households, which has been deposited at collection facilities, as well as the treatment, recovery and disposal of WEEE
• producers are to provide guarantees for the financing of future waste to minimise number of ‘orphan’ products of whom original producers are no longer on the market.