The WEEE Directive aims to regulate the proper take-back and disposal of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the EU. According to the principle of extended producer responsibility, manufacturers are responsible for the waste management of their own products.
DIRECTIVE 2012/19/EU of July 4, 2012 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
Objective of the WEEE Directive
The aim of the WEEE Directive is to prevent or reduce the generation of electrical and electronic waste (WEEE) and to ensure environmentally sound disposal. Appropriate measures for waste prevention, take-back and recycling are intended to conserve resources in order to protect the environment and health.
Which product categories are covered by WEEE?
In Annex I-IV of the EU Directive you can find a non-exhaustive list of the categories of waste electrical and electronic equipment covered, with examples for each product category.
Since 2018, the scope of the WEEE Directive has been adapted and 6 categories have been introduced to replace the previous 10 categories. In addition, the directive was adapted to open scope, meaning that the categories are no longer considered exhaustive. Since 2018 essentially all electrical and electronic equipment is covered by the WEEE Directive.
Who is considered a producer under the WEEE Directive?
The “producer” in the sense of the WEEE directive is not necessarily the manufacturer of the product, but the legal entity who puts the product the first time on the market in a given country and is therefore regarded as the “producer” of WEEE. This can be the manufacturer, but also (importing) wholesalers or retailers as well as distributors of electrical and electronic equipment.
When a company sells by means of distance selling to (private or professional) end users into other countries in Europe, then this company needs to register in each individual country it is selling to.
The legal status may differ per country depending on the sales and organizational structure, so it is important to analyse the legal status in advance in order to know the exact obligations per country.
Are you unsure whether you are a producer or not? We can provide you with a detailed assessment and step by step guidace on how to fulfil your obligations per country. Get in touch.
What are your obligations as a WEEE producer?
The WEEE Directive under the EU Waste Management Framework first introduced the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility back in 2012. EPR policies extend a producer’s financial and/or operational responsibility for a product at its end-of-life stage and shifts the waste managemernt costs to producers.
To meet these obligations, producers need to take care of the following topics:
- Registration: As a producer, you must register with the national WEEE authority in each country in which you put electrical and electronic equipment on the market. Once registration is complete, the producer will receive a registration number (at least in most of the European countries) that confirms your registration as a WEEE producer.
- Financing the take-back: The producer is obliged to finance the collection, take-back, recycling and recovery of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). To do that, producers can join an existing collective take-back organisation or theoretically set up their own take-back system (due to its requirements of national coverage and the need for contracts with collection and recycling companies, this solution in practical terms is often not feasible). In each EU member state, producers have established take-back systems, so-called “Producer Responsibilities Organizations” (PROs), who are accredited by the government to organise the legally compliant processing of WEEE for their member companies and in most cases work on a non-for-profit basis for their members.
- Information for recyclers and end consumers: Products must be marked with the crossed-out bin symbol to indicate that they must not be disposed of with normal household waste. Consumers should also be informed about the proper disposal of the product. Recyclers and treatment facilities should be informed about the components and materials used in the products.
- Reporting: Producers must regularly report the quantities of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market in each country to the relevant national authority.
Mostly this is not done directly, but through the PROs who take over the reporting to the authorities.
