Legislation
On 27 January 2003, the European Parliament adopted the Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (2002/96/EC), also referred to as the WEEE Directive. This Directive was implemented throughout Europe in August 2005. The most important aspect of this legislation is the introduction of manufacturers’ responsibility for electrical products in the waste phase. It also prohibits the dumping or incinerating of waste electrical and electronic equipment. In short: it stimulates recycling of such equipment.
The WEEE Directive
The Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE Directive) sets conditions for the collection, reuse and recycling of electric and electronic equipment. Manufacturers (and consequently importers and/or distributors as well) of electric and electronic products are obliged to:
- Register with the competent authority designated by every EU Member State to check whether manufacturers comply with all laws and provide estimates of the weight of equipment that is brought on the market annually.
- Provide acceptable financial guarantees in order to fulfil the obligations that apply in every Member State.
- Ensure that the correct data is collected to prove that the applicable laws and regulations of every relevant Member State are complied with.
Registration must take place in every country where the manufacturer sells its products. This means that it must join a take-back system of the country in question, or realise a proprietary system. Naturally, Coolrec can arrange this for you. In all 29 EU countries.
More information:
WEEE Directive, 2002/96/EC