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WEEE

The amount of electronic waste (WEEE) in the EU has been growing continuously for years—the rapid technological advancement, the increasing demand for modern devices, and rising prosperity have led to a tremendous increase in the production of electronic devices. Particularly noticeable is the shortening of the life cycles of many devices, which contributes to a culture of ‘throwaway electronics.’ As a result, waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the EU is among the fastest-growing waste streams.

Improper disposal poses significant environmental and health risks, therefore the EU introduced the ‘WEEE Directive’ many years ago under the framework of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This WEEE directive regulates, among other things, the avoidance, reduction, and environmentally sound disposal of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

The WEEE Directive has been implemented into national law in each EU country with varying country-specific requirements. Therefore, a company operating across Europe must be aware of and comply with up to 30 different regulations (including the EU plus Switzerland, Norway, and the UK), depending on the number of countries served. The obligations depend on various factors, such as the sales and distribution structure, the types of devices, and the quantities or units delivered to these countries.

WEEE stands for Waste of Eletrical and Electronic Equipment. This term is based on the EU WEEE Directive (2002/96/EC) which aims to prevent waste from electrical and electronic equipment and to reduce waste through reuse and recycling. This European directive has been implemented completely different in every EU country so that the environmental requirements for international manufacturers, dealers and distributors are very complex. The EU WEEE Directive also provides the basis for the German Electronic Act (ElektroG).

If you want to receive more information on the WEEE Directive. Feel free to contact us anytime

The obligations depend on the national and international sales structure as well as on the country-specific requirements. Basically you can say that manufacturers, importers and (online-)seller should always take these environmental legislations into account.

The Go4Recycling experts can analyse your individual obligations. Feel free to contact us anytime.

The German WEEE law (ElektroG) is the national implementation of the EU WEEE Directive in Germany. The law regulates the put on market requirments, take-back obligations and disposal of electronic equipment. Furthermore the law defines and clarfies the product responsibility of manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment. The ElektroG came into force in Germany in 2005 with has already been amended several times in recent years. The Stiftung EAR (Stiftung elektro-altgeräte register) is the “common authority of all manufacturers” and ensures a fair and competitive implementation of the ElektroG.

We can analyse your individual obligations according to the German ElektroG. Feel free to contact us anytime.

The WEEE registration number is the participation or membership number for the national WEEE legislation. The numbers differ from country to country. In some countries there are no official WEEE numbers – only participation numbers from the national WEEE take-back schemes.

For example in Germany all registered companies get a WEEE number in the format „WEEE-Reg.-Nr. DE 12345678“ This number is approved and assigned by the German control authority Stiftung EAR.

The situation in the fields of packaging and batteries is similar. In some EU countries it is mandatory to show these numbers on business correspondence whereas in others it is not necessary or even forbidden.

We can provide you with a country specific overview. Feel free to contact us anytime.

According to the WEEE Directive, all electrical and electronic equipment has to be marked permanently with a crossed-out wheelie dustbin. This WEEE symbol stands for the separate collection of electrical appliances. According to the WEEE law this symbol must be applied visibly and permanently on the products.

Furthermore all EU member states require that the manufacturer or brand owner could be clearly identified on the product. (e.g. by the brand or the manufacturer’s information on the product)

If the product is too small the symbol or brand may appear on the packaging or in the manual.

In some EU countries, additional country-specific labeling requirements have been introduced in recent years (e.g., Triman logo in France).

We can check your labelling obligations and your status quo. Feel free to contact us anytime.

There are big differences in the costs and recycling fees in between the countries. Basically the recycling fees depend on the put on market volumes of WEEE.

Furthermore there may be country-specific costs for registration at the environmental authorities, fees for the authorized representative as well as membership and/or minimum fees from the national take-back systems. In addition, there are price differences between B2B and B2C products.

We can provide you with an individual cost overview per country. Feel free to contact us anytime.

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WEEE: Take-back and recycling obligations for electrical and electronic equipment

There are many different recycling laws and take-back obligations for WEEE (Waste of electrical and electronic equipment) throughout the world.

The most common (and probably best known) directive is the EU WEEE directive 2002/96/EG. The intention behind it was to implement the thoughts of avoiding, reducing and sustainable recycling of these waste streams. It also serves as role model for different non-European countries who transposed parts of it into their national legislations.

In 2012 the EU WEEE directive has been revised and a new recast (WEEE2) has been put in place and has been adopted individually in almost every EU member state now. It tightens the existing liabilities of producers, (online) sellers and distributors. On 15th of August 2018 the transition period for the WEEE2 Directive ended and brought some new challenges, such as the new WEEE Open Scope and the implementation of the new WEEE categories.

The WEEE Directive has been implemented in every EU-country individually.

It means that a company which sells products European-wide has to consider up to 30 different WEEE regulations (EU 28 + Norway and Switzerland). Liabilities also differ and depend on different factors like sales structure, product category, weight and volumes of the devices GO4RECYLCING owns an in-depth knowledge of all these issues and has started to build up this special know-how several years ago. We are your efficient and flexible partner for all compliance related tasks worldwide.

Just give us a call or write an email – we will be happy to answer all your questions. Feel free to contact us anytime.