Making the most of waste electrical and electronic equipment

SUMMARY OF:

Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DIRECTIVE?

The directive aims to protect the environment and human health by encouraging sustainable production and consumption. It does so by:

preventing the creation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)*;
promoting reuse, recycling and other ways of recovering waste from electrical and electronic equipment (EEE)*;
supporting the efficient use of resources and recovery of valuable secondary raw materials.

An amending directive, Directive (EU) 2024/884, clarifies responsibility for paying certain waste management and disposal costs, bringing the directive into line with a Court of Justice of the European Union judgment. It also introduces a review clause requiring the European Commission to assess the need to revise the directive by the end of 2026.

KEY POINTS

The legislation:

recasts and repeals the original WEEE directive (Directive 2002/96/EC), which had been substantially amended since its adoption;
categorises WEEE into different categories, such as small and large equipment temperature exchange equipment, screens, lamps and small IT and telecommunications equipment;
does not apply to certain types of EEE, notably material for military or space purposes, filament bulbs, active implantable medical devices or means of transport.

European Union (EU) Member States must do the following.

Encourage cooperation between producers and recyclers to design electrical equipment which can be reused, dismantled or recovered in line with the ecodesign directive (Directive 2009/125/EC).
Minimise the disposal of WEEE in unsorted municipal waste.
Allow private households and distributors to return WEEE free of charge.
Ban the disposal of WEEE collected separately that has not been properly treated.
Ensure a minimum annual WEEE collection rate. From 2016, this was 45% of the total weight of EEE that was sold in the past 3 years. From 2019, this target was increased to 65%, which is equivalent to a target for collection of 85% of the total WEEE generated. More ambitious targets may be set in the near future.

Bulgaria, Czechia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia were allowed to postpone the achievement of the 2019 collection rate until 2021 because of a lack of the necessary infrastructure and their low levels of EEE use.

Member States must also:

check that all plants treating WEEE are officially licensed;
establish a register of all companies producing or importing EEE;
carry out inspections to ensure compliance with the legislation and establish penalties for breaking the law;
require producers to:
- meet minimum treatment targets for different WEEE categories,
- finance the cost of collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal from all users, apart from private households, of products on sale from 13 August 2005,
- provide information to the public on how WEEE can be returned and collected.

Following the Court’s judgment, to maintain the principle of legal certainty, amending Directive (EU) 2024/884 clarifies that:

the costs of the management and disposal of waste from photovoltaic panels placed on the market after 13 August 2012 remain with the producer of the EEE; and
extended producer responsibility for EEE products that had fallen within the scope of the directive as of 15 August 2018 should apply to those products placed on the market after that date.

Implementing acts

In April 2017, the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/699. This sets out the methods to calculate:

the weight of EEE sold in the market of each Member State;
the quantity of WEEE generated by weight in each Member State.

In February 2019, the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/290, which sets out the format for registration and reporting of producers of EEE to the register.

In December 2019, the Commission adopted Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/2193, which lays down rules for calculating, verifying and reporting data on WEEE minimum recovery targets and establishes data formats.

Review

The Commission is to assess whether there is a need to revise Directive 2012/19/EU and, if so, will present a legislative proposal in that respect by 31 December 2026, accompanied by a thorough socioeconomic and environmental impact assessment.

FROM WHEN DO THE RULES APPLY?

Directive 2012/19/EU recast and replaced already existing legislation, Directive 2002/96/EC and its subsequent amendments. The directive had to be transposed into national law by 14 February 2014.

Amending Directive (EU) 2024/884 has to be transposed into national law by 9 October 2025.

BACKGROUND

Waste from EEE, such as computers, televisions, fridges and mobile phones, is increasing every year. In 2005, EEE generated some 9 million tonnes of waste. By 2021, it had reached 13.5 million tonnes.
The waste not only contains scarce and expensive resources, which can be reused, but also hazardous material that must be properly managed to avoid environmental and health problems.
For further information, see:
- Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

Waste electrical and electronic equipment. Any electrical or electronic equipment, substance or object which is actually, is intended to be or is required to be discarded.

Electrical and electronic equipment. Equipment dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to work properly.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (recast) (OJ L 197, 24.7.2012, pp. 38–71).

Successive amendments to Directive 2012/19/EU have been incorporated into the original document. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

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