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Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is a Directive (2002/96/EC) established by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU) to reduce the amount of electrical and electronic equipment disposed into landfill sites and therefore, reduce air emissions in order to reduce risk to both health and the environment.

The purpose of the WEEE Directive is to:

• Prevent the excessive generation of electrical and electronic equipment waste;
• Promote reuse, recycling and other forms of waste recovery by reduction of waste disposal; and
• Provide a means for improving the environmental performance of those involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment.

The WEEE Directive applies to those manufacturers, sellers, distributors, consumers, and treatment operators who are associated with electrical and electronic equipment in the following 10 categories:

• Large Household Appliances (e.g. refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves)
• Small Household Appliances (e.g. vacuum cleaners, toasters, scales)
• IT & Telecommunications Equipment (e.g. printer units, personal computers, telephones)
• Consumer Equipment (e.g. television sets, video recorders, musical instruments)
• Lighting Equipment (e.g. fluorescent lamps, discharge lamps, sodium lamps)
• Electrical and Electronic Tools (e.g. drills, sewing machines, with the exception of Large-Scale Stationary Industrial Tools)
• Toys, Leisure, and Sports Equipment (e.g. electric trains or cars, video games, coin slot machines)
• Medical Devices (e.g. cardiology, dialysis, with the exception of all Implanted and Infected Products)
• Monitoring and Control Instruments (e.g. smoke detector, heating regulators, thermostats
• Automatic Dispensers (e.g. drink dispensers, money dispensers)

Under the WEEE Directive, Producers (which are considered to be manufacturers, sellers, resellers and importers or exporters into an EU member state) are required to provide reuse and treatment information on the materials and components used in their electrical and electronic equipment products to reuse centers, treatment, and/or recycling facilities. At a minimum treatment will include removal of all fluids and selective treatment of the following (not inclusive):

• Capacitors with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
• Components containing mercury (e.g. switches, backlighting lamps)
• Batteries
• Printed circuit boards (PCBs) in mobile phones
• Toner cartridges
• Asbestos waste
• Cathode ray tubes (fluorescent coating removed)
• Gas discharge lamps (mercury removed)
• Liquid crystal displays
• External electric cables

By August 2005, Producers of electrical and electronic equipment will need to demonstrate compliance with the WEEE Directive by recycling or recovering rather than landfilling. It is encouraged, in order to achieve compliance with the Directive, that through the product design phase of electrical and electronic equipment, reduction of waste will be accomplished.

If you have any additional questions about the WEEE directive, please contact us.