What is WEEE
WEEE refers to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive issued by the European Community on E-Waste along with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive in 2003 which regulates the collection,recycling and disposal of electronic and electrical equipment.The Directives are 2002/96/EC and 2002/95/EC and are going to be revised soon as 2/3rd of E-Waste in Europe continues to be dumped in Europe and Third World Countries .WEEE makes it mandatory for the producers of to dispose of the Electronic Waste.Unlike the USA which does not have such a strict policy,the companies must do so in an environment friendly way and can’t just export all the electronic junk ot Africa,India and China which has been the way of the industry till then.
The legislation provides for the creation of collection schemes where consumers return their used e-waste free of charge. The objective of these schemes is to increase the recycling and/or re-use of such products. It also requires heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium and flame retardants such as polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) to be substituted by safer alternatives.The EU’s WEEE and RoHS laws simply serve as a template for national laws. They are transposed into national law at national level.Member States are required to draw up a register of producers and collect information on an annual basis on the quantities and categories of electrical and electronic equipment placed on their market, collected, re-used, recycled and recovered within that Member State and on collected waste exported.
WEEE Provision
The directive sets out collection requirements and a minimum collection target of 4 kg per inhabitant per year for WEEE from private households. In line with the so-called waste hierarchy, preference is given to re-using whole appliances of collected WEEE. In addition the directive provides minimum combined targets for re-using components and recycling and minimum recovery targets.
What is Restriction of Hazardous Substances (ROHS)
The Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS), which bans the use of certain hazardous substances (such as lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and some polybrominated flame-retardants) in EEE. RoHS allows possible exemptions.
WEEE Objective
The prevention of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), and in addition, the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of such wastes so as to reduce the disposal of waste. It also seeks to improve the environmental performance of all operators involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment
WEEE Collection
Main Points
a) Systems have to be set up so that Final holders and Distributors are able to return such waste at least free of charge
b) When supplying a new product, distributors shall be responsible for ensuring that such waste can be returned to
the distributor at least free of charge
c) Producers are allowed to set up and operate individual and/or collective take-back systems for WEEE from private households
d) Member States shall ensure that all WEEE collected is transported to treatment facilities
The Commission proposes to set mandatory collection targets equal to 65% of the average weight of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market over the two previous years in each Member State. The recycling and recovery targets of such equipment would cover the re-use of whole appliances and weight-base targets would increase by 5%. Targets are proposed also for the recovery of medical devices.
WEEE Success/Failure and Need for Revision
Despite Rules on Electronics collection and recycling approximately a third of waste electrical and electronic equipment (33%) is reported to be treated according to the legislation. The rest goes to landfills (13%) and potentially to sub-standard treatment inside or outside the EU (54%). Illegal trade to non-EU countries is still widespread. The collection target of 4 kg per person per year does not reflect the amount of WEEE arising in individual Member States.
WEEE Revision
The European Commission has published its legislative proposal for the review of the WEEE Directive on December 3rd, 2008. The proposal will be debated and amended in a political legislative procedure by the European Parliament and EU Member States governments.New rules will probably not take effect until 2011-2012. Significant changes such as a broader scope, the introduction of CE marking requirements and new bans on substances could be made during this procedure.
Which changes does the Commission propose?
What overall improvements are expected?
WEEE Categories of Electrical and Electronic Equipment
1. Large household appliances
2. Small household appliances
3. IT and telecommunications equipment
4. Consumer equipment
5. Lighting equipment
6. Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary industrial tools)
7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment
8. Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products)
9. Monitoring and control instruments
10. Automatic dispensers
Sources and Further Reading