The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive aims to minimise the impacts of electrical and electronic equipment on the environment by designing products with recycling in mind and encouraging reuse, recycling, and recovery of WEEE. It will affect manufacturers, retailers, businesses and consumers.
The WEEE Directive sets criteria for the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of WEEE. It makes producers responsible for financing most of these activities (producer responsibility). The term 'producers' includes manufacturers, sellers and resellers of own-brand equipment, and importers and exporters of electrical and electronic equipment into the UK. Private householders are able to return WEEE without charge. (This includes retailer take-back)
The WEEE Directive applies to a huge range of electrical equipment and will be enforced by UK Law on the 13th August 2005. However, some specific actions, e.g. producer registration and reporting of data on equipment placed on the market, will be from January 2005 onwards.
A collection target of 4 kg per head of population per annum is to be achieved by 31st December 2006.
Alongside the WEEE Directive is the related Directive on Restrictions of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS). It seeks to reduce the environmental impact of WEEE by restricting the use of certain hazardous substances during manufacture.
The ROHS Directive requires the substitution of lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenylethers (PDBEs) by 1st July 2006.
Manufacturers will need to ensure that their products and components comply. If they do not, they will need to redesign their products.
Scope
The WEEE Directive applies to the following categories of electrical and electronic equipment:
- Large household appliances
- IT & telecommunications equipment
- Consumer equipment
- Lighting equipment
- Electrical and electronic tools
- Toys leisure and sports equipment
- Medical devices
- Monitoring and control instruments
- Automatic dispensers
Click here to view a detailed list of the Scope of equipment
Follow the links below for further information on how the WEEE Directive affects you:
Consumers
Businesses
Producers - includes manufacturers, sellers and resellers of own-brand equipment, and importers and exporters of electrical and electronic equipment into the UK.
Retailers / Distributors – Further information - take-back obligation, compliance scheme, and provision of information to consumers.